This charming, simple miniature by Ellen Dickson serves as a study in sustained tone and basic legato phrasing. It is notable for its unpretentious, straightforward melodic simplicity typical of 19th-century educational literature.
At Henle 2 this is a beginner-level piece, where steady coordination between the hands is the main hurdle. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment, and precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece.
Students should focus on maintaining a constant, unbroken legato line.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Drifting 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 Drifting lasts about 2 minutes.
Drifting 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 Blaue Aeuglein by Friedrich Burgmüller, Albumblad by Oskar Merikanto, Dodelinette by Franz Behr — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.