Gymnopédie No. 3 · piano sheet music & MIDI file
The third Gymnopédie as a free MIDI file: the darkest of the three plays in the preview and downloads in one click, sheet music PDF included.
Preview played right in your browser with the app's real piano (lightweight version). Inside Pianovera: full multi-layer sound, fingering display and Wait mode.
Satie marked the third Gymnopédie "slow and grave", and it's the most nocturnal MIDI of the triptych: where the first floats in soft light, this one walks under an overcast sky, in minor nearly throughout. Debussy loved it enough to orchestrate it, which did a lot for the trio's fame.
It shares its sisters' technical simplicity: the challenge is never in the fingers, it's in the color. Playing dark without playing loud, keeping the sway alive at a very slow tempo, letting the melody detach without pushing it. A beautiful tone laboratory for a patient beginner.
What you'll be working on
- A dark color made with touch, not volume
- A very slow tempo held without stiffness
- Deep bass notes, round and grounded
- The melody floating free of the background, effortlessly
Playing Gymnopédie No. 3 on piano with Pianovera
Nudge the reverb up in Pianovera's sound settings for this one: its cloud side blooms. In Wait mode, let each chord fade before you play the next; the piece was written for exactly that.
Open Gymnopédie No. 3 in Pianovera: notes fall toward the keyboard, each hand gets its color, and Wait mode is there if you're starting out.
Try Pianovera for freeDownload the Gymnopédie No. 3 MIDI and sheet music
Two files are waiting for you: the Gymnopédie No. 3 piano MIDI file (3 KB, opens in Pianovera or any MIDI player) and the Gymnopédie No. 3 piano sheet music PDF (57 KB, printable). Both come from the same engraving: what you read on the score is exactly what you hear in the preview.
The work itself is in the public domain, and this MIDI engraving was placed in the public domain by its typesetter on the Mutopia Project. Use it freely, videos included.
About this piece
Is Gymnopédie No. 3 hard to play on piano?
We rate it beginner: 326 notes over 3:00, spanning G1 to A5. The first thing to work on: a dark color made with touch, not volume.
Where can I get the sheet music for Gymnopédie No. 3?
Right on this page: the "View the sheet music" button opens the PDF (57 KB), engraved by the Mutopia Project from the same source as the MIDI file, Public domain license. View it, print it, keep it.
Is the Gymnopédie No. 3 MIDI file really free?
Yes. Erik Satie died more than 70 years ago, so the work (1888) is public domain. This MIDI engraving is public domain too: download it and use it freely, videos included.