This is a characteristic light-hearted salon piece from the late 19th century. Its distinctive charm lies in its simple, repetitive rhythmic patterns that mimic a rhythmic gait.
Focus on maintaining a steady, light touch across the repeated rhythmic motifs.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Au petit trot (Op.21) is rated Henle level 2 of 9 — beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 2–3. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 2.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 2 — meaning you can already play level 1–2 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Au petit trot (Op.21) lasts about 2 minutes.
Au petit trot (Op.21) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Bach-bwv-anh-114 by Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach-anh-114 by Johann Sebastian Bach, Blumenwalzer by Léon Jessel — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.