Lowell Mason · C major
Mary Had a Little Lamb: piano notes for beginners
Mary Had a Little Lamb is in C major and runs to 8 bars. Three notes to begin with, and the whole tune sits under one hand position. There are three levels here: the melody on its own, the melody with one bass note per bar, and both hands together. Every note shows the finger to use, and the music waits for you rather than running ahead.
Three levels
Start at whichever one you can manage
One hand
The melody on its own, right hand only.
Play level 1 → LEVEL 2Melody and bass
One steady left-hand note under each bar.
Play level 2 → LEVEL 3Both hands
The full arrangement, both hands as written.
Play level 3 →Fingers 3, 2 and 1 do almost all of the work. Keep them curved and let the hand stay still.
The notes
What notes are in Mary Had a Little Lamb?
The melody uses 4 different notes: C, D, E, G. It is written in C major in 4/4 time, and runs to 8 bars.
Every note the melody uses, lit on the keyboard. C major.
Before you start
Common mistakes on Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Moving the whole hand for each note. Only the fingers should move.
- Playing the repeated E notes unevenly. Aim for three identical sounds.
- Forgetting the last note is four beats long.
The practice room highlights the bars you keep fluffing and offers to loop them, so you do not have to spot these yourself.
Copyright
Why this piece is free
Words by Sarah Josepha Hale, who died in 1879. Music by Lowell Mason, who died in 1872. Out of UK copyright since 1950. The arrangement, the fingering and the notation on this page are our own original work.
See the full public domain policy for every piece on this site.
Keep going
After this piece
About the same level: first piece · C major in 4/4 time Open → 1 Frère Jacques
About the same level: first piece · C major in 4/4 time Open → 2 Ode to Joy
The next step up: beginner · C major in 4/4 time Open →
New to reading the dots? The guide to reading music is free, and the five minute walkthrough comes before everything else.