Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 sheet music (easy)

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), Level 3 · Beginner, 0:38

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Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 (Easy), keyboard staff, page 1 of 2Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 (Easy)Johannes Brahms (1833–1897). Regular keyboard staff. Print at 100%, not fit-to-page.CCDDEFFGGAABBold red line: C4 · Solid line: other Cs, D F G A · Dotted grey line: E | F and B | CC3341EEGEEGEGCGGCGGCGGC3C54CBAAGDEFDDEGDDGDDGDDC3C57FDFBAGBCCCGDDGDDCGGC3C510CAFGECFGAFCCCGGFCCC3C513GCCCAFGECCGGFCCCGGSource: Site-owned easy edition. Melody: Wiegenlied (Guten Abend, gut' Nacht), Op. 49 No. 4, Johannes Brahms (1868), public domain, checked against Wikipedia: Brahms' Lullaby(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullaby_(Brahms)). Left hand written for this site.Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 (Easy) · Page 1 of 2
Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 (Easy), keyboard staff, page 2 of 2C316FEDCGDDCGGSource: Site-owned easy edition. Melody: Wiegenlied (Guten Abend, gut' Nacht), Op. 49 No. 4, Johannes Brahms (1868), public domain, checked against Wikipedia: Brahms' Lullaby(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullaby_(Brahms)). Left hand written for this site.Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 (Easy) · Page 2 of 2
Photograph of Johannes Brahms with a full white beard
Johannes Brahms. C. Brasch, Berlin, 1889, New York Public Library. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Key facts

Level
Level 3 · Beginner. Estimated from the notes (0 of 8 on our difficulty score)
Time signature
3/4
Key signature
No sharps or flats
Length
17 bars, 2 pages
Playing time
0:38
Notes
102
Range
G2 to C5

Source and licence

Licence of the source: Public domain melody.

Source: Site-owned easy edition. Melody: Wiegenlied (Guten Abend, gut' Nacht), Op. 49 No. 4, Johannes Brahms (1868), public domain, checked against Wikipedia: Brahms' Lullaby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullaby_(Brahms)). Left hand written for this site.

Source: Wikipedia.

Playback sounds: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0); Upright Piano KW by Gonzalo and Roberto of FreePats (CC0 1.0); Fluid R3 GM by Frank Wen and contributors (CC BY 3.0). Full sound credits.

How to play Lullaby, Op. 49 No. 4 (Easy)

The world's favourite lullaby, with a left hand that rocks like a cradle. All white keys, slow and kind.

Where your hands go

Right hand: the tune lives mostly between C4 and C5. Start with your thumb on E4.

Left hand: three notes a bar, a low note then two higher ones, such as C3, G3, G3. Little finger on the low note, thumb on the high one.

It is in C major and 3/4.

The tricky bars

Bar 1
The bar starts with a half rest: the tune comes in on beat 3 with E4, E4. The left hand starts on beat 1.
Bar 4
C5, then B4 for a dotted quarter and a quick A4.
Bars 9–10
The octave jump: C4, C4, then up to C5. It happens again in bars 13 and 14.

Your practice plan

  1. Left hand alone through the piece: "low, high, high" in every bar.
  2. Right hand alone, bars 1 to 8, starting on beat 3 of bar 1.
  3. Right hand alone, bars 9 to 17, practising the octave jump.
  4. Hands together, four bars at a time.
  5. Play it all with Listen on, as softly as you can.

Watch out for

  • Starting the tune on beat 1 of bar 1. It starts on beat 3.
  • Playing the left hand louder than the tune.
  • Making the dotted quarter in bars 2 and 4 too short.

Power-up: press Loop, tap the first and last of the tricky bars, and they repeat until they feel easy. Hands in Options lets you practise one hand at a time. New to the notation? Start with how to read keyboard staff, then how to practise piano.