Comptine d’un autre été is the gently rippling piano piece most people know from Amélie, the 2001 French film about a shy Parisian waitress. Written by Yann Tiersen, its full title is Comptine d’un autre été: L’après-midi, and it has become one of the most-loved pieces among adult piano learners.
The good news is that the whole piece rests on just four chords that repeat from start to finish. Once your left hand knows them, the melody has a steady floor to stand on. Below you’ll find the key facts at a glance, interactive keyboard diagrams for every chord and a step-by-step plan for learning Comptine d’un autre été on piano from the video.
Comptine d’un autre été at a glance
Yann Tiersen’s rippling piano theme from Amélie, built on four chords that repeat from the first bar to the last.
What does Comptine d’un autre été mean?
A comptine is a French nursery rhyme, the kind of sing-song chant children use in playground games. D’un autre été means “of another summer”, and l’après-midi means “the afternoon”. Put together, the title reads as “Nursery rhyme from another summer: the afternoon”, which suits the music’s nostalgic, childlike repetition.
How hard is Comptine d’un autre été on piano?
We class it among intermediate piano songs. Each individual note is easy to reach and the chords never change order, so the piece looks simpler than it is.
The challenge is endurance and piano hand independence. Your left hand plays a continuous broken-chord pattern for the entire piece, and later the right hand moves into faster, higher groups of notes, at times in threes against the left hand’s even pairs. If you’re completely new to the keyboard, warming up with a few easy piano songs first will make this one much more enjoyable.
How to play Comptine d’un autre été on piano
You don’t need sheet music for this piece. Learn the left-hand foundation with the interactive tools below, then use the video above to pick up the right-hand melody one section at a time.
Step 1: Learn the four chord shapes
Every bar of Comptine d’un autre été is built on one of four chords: E minor, G major, B minor and D major. Learn each shape as a block first, with all three notes pressed together, so your hand knows where to go before you start moving.
Two of the shapes are minor (Em and Bm) and two are major (G and D). That mix of major and minor chords gives the piece its bittersweet sound. Em and G also feel closely related because they are linked through relative major and minor scales: E minor and G major share all seven notes.
Four chords carry the whole piece: Em, G, Bm and D, always in that order. Tap each one to see where it sits on the keyboard.
Em – E minor (tap to see the keys)
Fingering: No black keys. Place left-hand finger 5 on E, 3 on G and 1 on B.
Broken-chord warm-up: E – B – G – B (lowest note, top note, middle note, top note), played evenly and repeated.
This is home base. The piece starts and ends here, so it is worth learning first.
G – G major (tap to see the keys)
Fingering: No black keys. Finger 5 on G, 3 on B, 1 on D.
Broken-chord warm-up: G – D – B – D (lowest note, top note, middle note, top note), played evenly and repeated.
Notice that G and B are shared with Em. Only one finger really moves.
Bm – B minor (tap to see the keys)
Fingering: One black key: F♯. Finger 5 on B, 3 on D, 1 on F♯.
Broken-chord warm-up: B – F♯ – D – F♯ (lowest note, top note, middle note, top note), played evenly and repeated.
This is the shape learners most often miss. Feel for the black key with your thumb before you play.
D – D major (tap to see the keys)
Fingering: One black key: F♯ in the middle. Finger 5 on D, 3 on F♯, 1 on A.
Broken-chord warm-up: D – A – F♯ – A (lowest note, top note, middle note, top note), played evenly and repeated.
After D, the loop jumps back down to Em, so practise the D-to-Em change on its own.
Step 2: Warm up with the four-chord loop
The left hand never sits still on a block chord. Instead, it rolls through the chord notes in a steady pattern. This warm-up uses the same rolling feel, so the movement becomes automatic before you add the melody. If the rolling pattern is new to you, start with the basics of how to play broken chords.
One chord per bar, then back to the start. Play each pattern twice per bar as even eighth notes to fill the four beats.
How to practise the loop (tap for the drill)
Set a metronome to 60 BPM and play one note per click. Go round the loop four times without stopping.
When the chord changes feel automatic, play two notes per click. Keep your wrist loose and let your hand move to the next shape a moment before the bar line.
Ready to try it on the keys? Step through the loop one chord at a time, then use the trainer to smooth out each change.
Play the warm-up one chord at a time. Each card shows the keys and the order to play them. Open the next card when you are ready to move on.
Start: Em – E minor (bar 1 of 4)
Start here. Rest your fingers on the three green keys before you play a note.
Next: G – G major (bar 2 of 4)
Your hand shifts up: G and B are the same keys as in Em, and D is the new top note.
Next: Bm – B minor (bar 3 of 4)
Feel for the black key, F♯, with your thumb. This is the shape most learners miss.
Next: D – D major (bar 4 of 4)
The highest shape in the loop. When you finish it, jump back down to Em and start again.
Loop complete. Close this card and start again from Em. When you can go round four times without stopping, move on to the chord-change trainer.
Smooth changes come from knowing which notes stay put. Tap a change to see which keys you keep, which you add and which you let go.
Em › G (tap to see what moves)
Two notes stay the same. Let go of E and add D on top as your hand shifts up.
G › Bm (tap to see what moves)
B and D carry over. Let go of G and reach your thumb onto the black key, F♯.
Bm › D (tap to see what moves)
D and F♯ carry over. Let go of B and add A on top. This is the smoothest change in the loop.
D › Em (tap to see what moves)
No notes in common: this is the big move. Jump your whole hand back down to home position. Practise this change on its own until it feels automatic.
Step 3: Learn the right-hand melody from the video
With the left hand secure, turn to the right hand. The opening melody sits just above middle C on piano, then gradually climbs higher as the piece develops. Warm up your fingers in this position first.
Warm up your right hand in E minor before learning the melody. These five keys are your starting position.
The grey-labelled key is middle C. Your right hand sits just above it, thumb on E.
Play up and back down with fingers 1 to 5, one note per click at 60 BPM. Keep every note the same volume.
Variation: groups of three (tap for the next level)
Play each group of three evenly, then step up one note and repeat. Come back down the same way. This gets your fingers used to flowing three-note groups like the ones in the melody.
- Slow the video down. Use YouTube’s playback speed setting (0.5x or 0.75x) so you can see every note clearly.
- Learn two bars at a time. Pause, copy what you see and hear, then rewind and repeat until it sticks.
- Hum the melody. If you can sing a phrase, your fingers will find it much faster.
Step 4: Put both hands together
This is where most learners get stuck, so take it in small stages rather than trying to play everything at once.
Climb one step at a time. Only move on once the current stage feels relaxed.
Stage 1: Left hand plus one melody note (tap to open)
Play the left-hand loop and add only the first right-hand note of each bar from the video. This trains your hands to land together on beat one.
Stage 2: Left hand plus the first phrase (tap to open)
Add the right hand’s first two bars. Stop, check that the left hand kept its even rhythm, then repeat.
Stage 3: Two bars at a time (tap to open)
Work through the piece two bars at a time, pausing the video after each section. Join a new pair of bars to the previous one only when both feel steady.
Stage 4: Full sections (tap to open)
Play one complete section from start to finish without stopping, even if you miss a note. Keeping the left hand moving matters more than perfection.
Step 5: Build up to full tempo
Speed comes last. Use a metronome and climb the tempo ladder gradually until you reach the speed of the original recording.
Move up a rung once you can play a section three times in a row without stopping. The original recording sits at roughly 99–100 BPM.
50 BPM: Notes only (tap for the goal)
Play hands separately. Aim for even notes and correct chord changes, not expression.
70 BPM: Hands together (tap for the goal)
Join the hands section by section. Every left-hand note should sound the same volume.
85 BPM: Shape and balance (tap for the goal)
Let the melody sing above a quieter left hand. Add light pedal, changing it with each new chord.
99 BPM: Performance tempo (tap for the goal)
This is close to the original recording. Play full run-throughs and focus on keeping the loop flowing to the very last chord.
Test yourself before you sit down at the keys. Answer in your head, then tap to check.
What is the order of the four chords? (tap for the answer)
Em, G, Bm, D, then back to Em.
Which two chords use a black key? (tap for the answer)
Bm and D. Both include F♯.
Which notes do Em and G have in common? (tap for the answer)
G and B. That is why the change from Em to G feels so smooth.
In the broken-chord warm-up, which note do you play twice? (tap for the answer)
The top note of the chord, for example B in E – B – G – B.
Top tips for playing Comptine d’un autre été
Keep these tips in mind as you work through the video and the practice tools above.
- Keep the left hand quieter than the melody. The rolling accompaniment should sit underneath the right hand like a soft cushion, never on top of it.
- Practise hands separately first. Get the four-chord loop completely automatic before adding the melody, so all your attention can go to the right hand.
- Change the pedal with each chord. A light touch of sustain pedal adds warmth, but lift and press again on every new chord to stop the harmonies blurring. If you’re new to the piano pedals, practise the loop without pedal first.
- Count the threes against twos slowly. When the right hand moves in groups of three over the left hand’s pairs, tap the rhythm on your lap first, then play it at half speed.
- Learn one section at a time. The piece is a series of variations over the same four chords, so master each variation before moving to the next.
- Protect your stamina. Keep your wrists loose and shake out your hands between run-throughs. A few short piano warm-ups before each session help keep tension out of your hands. Tension builds quickly in a piece where the left hand never stops.
Author of this blog post:
Susana Pérez Posada
Susana Pérez Posada, Master in Music Therapy, Skoove Piano Educator With over seven years in piano education and a deep passion for music therapy, Susana brings a unique blend of expertise to Skoove. A graduate in Music Therapy from SRH Hochschule Heidelberg and an experienced classical pianist from Universidad EAFIT, she infuses her teaching with a holistic approach that transcends traditional piano lessons. In her writings for Skoove, Susana combines her rich musical knowledge with engaging storytelling, enriching the learning experience for pianists of all levels. Away from the piano, she loves exploring new places and immersing herself in a good book, believing these diverse experiences enhance her creative teaching style.
Published by Lydia Ogn from the Skoove team
