Happy Birthday sheet music (easy)

Mildred J. Hill (1859–1916), Level 2 · Beginner, 0:14

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Happy Birthday (Easy), keyboard staff, page 1 of 1Happy Birthday (Easy)Mildred J. Hill (1859–1916). 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 | CC334CCDCFECCDCGFCCC34FCCCAFEDB♭B♭AFGFFB♭FCC38FFSource: Site-owned easy edition. Melody: Happy Birthday to You (the tune of "Good Morning to All", by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill), Mildred J. Hill (1893 (as "Good Morning to All", Clayton F. Summy, Chicago)), publicdomain, rights checked against Wikipedia: Happy Birthday to You (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You). Left hand written for this site.Happy Birthday (Easy) · Page 1 of 1
The keys this piece uses, Bb2 to C5. A line runs from each black key in its range; the bold one is C♯4.

Key facts

Level
Level 2 · Beginner. Estimated from the notes (0 of 8 on our difficulty score)
Time signature
3/4
Key signature
1 flat
Length
9 bars, 1 page
Playing time
0:14
Notes
34
Range
Bb2 to C5

Source and licence

Licence of the source: Public domain melody.

Source: Site-owned easy edition. Melody: Happy Birthday to You (the tune of "Good Morning to All", by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill), Mildred J. Hill (1893 (as "Good Morning to All", Clayton F. Summy, Chicago)), public domain, rights checked against Wikipedia: Happy Birthday to You. Left hand written for this site.

Source: Wikipedia, from the edition Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill, "Good Morning to All", Song Stories for the Kindergarten, Clayton F. Summy, Chicago, 1893. The tune as sung to "Happy Birthday to You", written out for this site and checked against the score on 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 Happy Birthday (Easy)

The one song every party asks for. It starts on middle C, fits in eight bars, and you could be playing it at the next birthday cake.

Where your hands go

Right hand: thumb on middle C (C4) and fingers 2 to 5 on D4, E4, F4 and G4. Bars 0 to 4 never leave those five keys; from bar 5 the hand moves up for C5, A4 and B♭4.

Left hand: one long note in each bar, F3, C3 or B♭2. B♭2 is the black key in bar 6, and bar 7 changes from F3 to C3 on the last beat.

It is in F major and 3/4, so count "one, two, three". Bar 0 is the pickup: two quick C4s for "Hap-py".

The tricky bars

Bars 1–2
"Birth-day to you": D4, C4, F4, then E4 held for two beats. The two quick C4s at the end of bar 2 lead straight into the second line.
Bars 3–4
The same start, but this time it climbs to G4 and lands on F4. Bar 1 went to F4 and E4 instead.
Bar 5
"Dear": the leap. Your hand jumps from C4 up to C5 for one note, then steps down A4 and F4. Look at C5 before you play.
Bars 6–7
E4 and D4, then two quick B♭4s for the last "Hap-py". B♭4 is the black key just below B4. Then A4, F4, G4 and home to F4.

Your practice plan

  1. Count "three" and play the two C4s of bar 0, then bar 1. That is the whole opening.
  2. Right hand alone, bars 0 to 4, saying the words as you play.
  3. Right hand alone, bars 4 to 8, landing the jump to C5 in bar 5 slowly.
  4. Left hand alone, counting three beats on every held note.
  5. Hands together at half speed with the Speed control, then play it with Listen on.

Watch out for

  • Starting on beat 1. The two C4s of "Hap-py" come before the first full bar.
  • Playing B4 instead of B♭4 in bar 6. It is the black key.
  • Cutting the held E4 in bar 2 and F4 in bar 4 short.
  • Copying bar 1 into bar 3. Bar 3 goes up to G4, not F4.

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.