A guitar arrangement played mostly in first position, in the key of C.

Sheet music PDF.

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Sheet music PDF. Sheet music PDF. Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie arranged for classical guitar.

Edition notes

Here’s a bit of an experiment - an arrangement in C played mostly in first position and making use of open strings in the trebles. The harmonies are simplified a lot, perhaps too much in places. Other guitar arrangements I’ve seen are usually in E (4 sharps), or D (2 sharps), with the searing melody line played in a higher register. In comparison this arrangement has a less strident character with the top voice brought down an octave. I found it more approachable to learn, easier for me to try and focus on calmness when in a lower position with long string lengths.

I have been playing this with a capo on the second fret, which reduces the timbre difference between open and stopped strings, and eases any left hand stretches. The result also happens to sound in the key of the original piano version - D major / minor - though I don’t think that is particularly important.

I haven’t included dynamics markings - the original is marked pianissimo, but we probably just need to find a level on guitar that feels suitable for the situation. In the first published edition, bar 9 has a forte marking. For this, I play the off-beat chords in bars 9-12 ponticello, while the bass ostinato continues sul ordinario. The high open E gets rearticulated and allowed to ring on.

The tempo marking “lent et douloureux” might be translated as “slow and sorrowful” or even “slow and painful”. I take it at around quarter note = 60, but a wide range of tempos can work (for even slower check out Reinbert de Leeuw, closer to 40 bpm).

Erik Satie, 1ère Gymnopédie first edition facsimile at Bibliothèque Nationale de France. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b520000770.

Erik Satie, 3 Gymnopédie IMSLP entry, including autograph manuscript. https://imslp.org/wiki/3_Gymnop%C3%A9dies_(Satie,_Erik).

Nancy G. McClernan, Blog article about the dedicatee of Gymnopédie No. 1. https://www.mcclernan.com/2022/02/qui-etait-jeanne-de-bret.html

Some other arrangements

Peter Charles Kraus, Satie for the Guitar (3 Gymnopedies and 3 Gnossiennes). G. Schirmer, 1974.

Francis Kleynjans, Erik Satie: 7 Pieces (Kleynjans) Guitare. Editions Salabert, 1982. [Kaori Muraji performing this].

Edition summary

Title Gymnopédie No. 1
Composer Erik Satie
Composition year 1888
Original key D major
Instrument Guitar
Arranger Jonty Dawson
Edition date 2025-02-09
Page count 1
Edition PDF satie-erik-gymnopedie-1-guitar.pdf