Dedicated to Grafin Pauline Plater, this mazurka uses Polish folk rhythms and modes and has a metronome mark of 132, making it one of Chopin's slower mazurkas. It is of moderate difficulty: the ABRSM system assigns a grade 7. The piece starts with a piano section in which the central theme is stated. This revolves around oscillating triplets and brings heavy accents on the third beat of each bar. A second theme, fortissimo, offers a passage full of sforzandos and wedge accents. The original theme then returns, forte, but quickly decrescendos. These passages end with repeats. The third theme enters as an ostinato under a thundering accompaniment with a grace note before every chord. There is use of the Lydian mode, and the accents are even heavier than in the second section. After several percussion chords, the central theme returns and the mazurka gradually dies away.

Date of composition 1830
First published 1832
Type Mazurka
Tonality E Major
Catalogue Op. 6
Instruments Piano
Autotranslations beta Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka n°3 en mi majeur, Op. 6
Fryderyk Chopin: Mazurca n. 3 in mi maggiore, Op. 6
Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka Nr. 3 E-dur, Op. 6