Arabesque
Arabesque (French arabesque) originally denotes a stylised tendril ornament. In music the word means the ornamentation of a melody, rich figuration, and also a cheerful piece of music, especially for piano. The sheet music archive holds “L’Arabesque” by Friedrich Burgmüller.
- Meaning in music
- ornamentation of a melody, rich figuration; also a cheerful piece of music, especially for piano
- Word origin
- French arabesque, from Italian arabesco, from arabo “Arabic”; at first an ornament in the visual arts
- Example in the archive
- “L’Arabesque”, op. 100 No. 2, for piano
- Time signature of the example
- 2/4
Ornamenting a melody
The word arabesque comes from the visual arts: there it denotes a stylised tendril ornament. In music it has two meanings: the ornamentation of a melody in the form of rich figuration, and a cheerful piece of music, especially for piano. The name comes from the visual arts; what is meant is a heavily ornamented style.
So what is meant is a style of writing, not a single sign: a simple line is ornamented with quick notes. The two lines below show this in an example of our own.
Framework: a line of three notes
An example of our own. Each bar rests on one note: E, D, C.
The same line, ornamented as in an arabesque
In each of the first two bars four slurred sixteenth notes play around the note of the framework; it returns as a short eighth note with a staccato dot, followed by an eighth rest. The construction matches the figures in Burgmüller’s piece, the notes are our own.
The framework consists of three long notes. In the second line the first two of them are embedded in a figure; the melody is the same, but it looks livelier.
“L’Arabesque” in the sheet music archive
The archive holds “L’Arabesque” by Friedrich Burgmüller, No. 2 from the 25 easy études, op. 100. On the sheet “Arabeske” appears only as a subtitle; as the collection it names “25 leichte Etüden”. The table sums up what can be seen in the first bars and in the course of the piece.
| Place in the sheet | Bars | What the score shows |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 1–2 | The right hand rests, the left hand plays chords with staccato dots, p. |
| First figure | 3–6 | Four slurred sixteenth notes and an eighth note in every bar, “p” and, along with it, the marking “leggieremente” (as printed), from bar 5 cresc. |
| First section | 3–11 | Repeat signs with a first-time bar (bar 10) and a second-time bar (bar 11). |
| Second section | from 12 | f, long notes in the right hand; the sixteenth-note figure is now in the left hand. |
Arabesque in the archive
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L’Arabesque Friedrich Burgmüller (1806–1874), op. 100 No. 2, from “25 leichte Etüden” · piano · 1 page
The subtitle reads “Arabeske · aus: 25 leichte Etüden”, the tempo marking is “Allegro scherzando”, the time signature 2/4; the key signature is empty. After two introductory bars in the left hand the figure begins in the right hand in bar 3. Bars 3 to 6 are all built on the same principle: four slurred sixteenth notes, an eighth note, an eighth rest.
Distinctions
An arabesque is neither a rhythm of its own nor a time signature. Ornaments in the narrower sense are single signs such as the trill or the grace note; in the arabesque the whole figure carries the ornamentation.
Common mistakes
- Stressing the four sixteenth notes one by one: They lie under a slur and run as one movement.
- Holding the eighth note after the slur too long: The dot above it asks for it short.
- Taking every piece named “Arabeske” to be the same: The word describes a richly ornamented way of writing or a cheerful piano piece; form and time signature differ from piece to piece.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
FigurationFigureColoraturaColoration (melodic embellishment)StaccatoLegatoTwo-four timeÉtude
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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