Learn the Nocturne by Borodin for Classical Ukulele

Nocturne by Borodin for Classical Ukulele

Learn how to play the beautiful Nocturne by Borodin for classical ukulele in this video lesson. Jeff’s arrangement is in low-G tuning and in the key of Bb Major.

Download a copy of the score + TAB  to follow along.

Alexander Borodin

Both a chemist and composer, Alexander Borodin was one of Russia’s most important composers during the latter half of the nineteenth century. A member of “The Five,” a group of composers dedicated to nationalistic music, Borodin is most known for his symphonies. In fact, Franz Liszt arranged a performance of his Symphony No.1 in 1880.

String Quartet No.2

However, he wrote two string quartets. And the second, in D Major, has perhaps his most famous piece, the beautiful “Nocturne.” This movement is marked “cantabile ed espressivo” and gives the lyrical melody to the cello. After a busier middle section, the melody returns in the last section in canon form.

Listen to the Nocturne:

Jeff’s arrangement of the Nocturne by Borodin for Classical Ukulele

In this arrangement by Jeff Peterson, the Nocturne appears in the key of Bb Major. This is up one half-step from the original, which is in the key of A Major. While Bb may be a new key to you, the piece works really well in this key.

Barre chords

Make sure your first finger is not angled and is right behind the fret wire for the Bb chord. This helps you get clarity out of each note but also keep the hand relaxed. This is one of the biggest technical challenges of the piece along with the tricky rhythms.

Rhythms

While the music is in 3/4 and features sixteenth, eighth, and quarter notes, there are also triplets in the melody. Practice moving back and forth between the duplets (8ths, quarters, 16ths) to triplets counting subdivisions. Your triplets should be three equal notes across one quarter-note beat.

Expression

The piece also allows for a lot of expression. We can use rubato to push and pull the rhythms in places to allow some notes to be more expressive. If you watch a great string quartet you’ll see and hear this same thing. So practice first playing in time, and then try to creatively free up the rhythms to be more expressive.

Don’t forget to download the score to follow along:

Download a copy of the score + TAB  to follow along.

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We hope you enjoyed this lesson on Borodin’s Nocturne for classical ukulele!