It begins with the characteristic upbeat of a gavotte, a dance. Starting with two single notes on the anacrusis upbeat, the subsequent downbeat, located at the beginning of the next measure, brings a triad in the left hand. This structural placement tends to make the downbeat heavy and prone to clashing. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that this left-hand I tonic triad is not played too heavily. The dynamic marking, deliberately mezzo forte rather than forte or piano, likely takes this point into consideration.

The overall structure is binary form. Measures 1 to 8 constitute the large section A, and measures 8 (from the third beat anacrusis) to 16 constitute the large section B.

• A [a (measures 1-4) + a1 (measures 4, from anacrusis, to 8)]
• B [b (measures 8, from anacrusis, to 12) + a1 (measures 12, from anacrusis, to 16)]

Overall, there are almost no polyphonic (multi-voiced) elements. The only notable instance, if any, is the descending stepwise motion in the left hand at the conclusion of a1 (measures 7 and 15), which includes passing tones. Although this section features parallel motion between the upper and lower voices, it is at a sixth interval rather than an octave, and the line includes non-harmonic tones, suggesting a melodic element in the left hand as well. (However, the polyphony is not emphasized to a great extent.)

Unlike section a, section b lacks thick triads in the accompaniment. The lower voice range is in a higher register, suggesting a lighter character. Furthermore, the placement of quarter rests on strong beats and staccato quarter notes on weak beats gives it a rhythmic quality. Considering and expressing these differences between sections contributes to conveying the structural integrity of the piece.