How to play In the Hall of the Mountain King on piano
- Level
- Easy
- Key
- A minor (simplified from B minor)
- Composer
- Edvard Grieg
- Written
- 1875
Written in 1875 for Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, this piece starts quietly and gets faster and louder until it explodes. This easy version is moved down to A minor so it uses mostly white keys.
In the Hall of the Mountain King letter notes
Press play to hear each line while the keys light up. Then play along, one line at a time.
Phrase 1
ABCDECE
Phrase 2
D♯BD♯DB♭D
Phrase 1 again
ABCDECEA
Ending
GECEG
Underlined notes are long notes: hold them for two beats or more.
Hand position
Right hand thumb on A. The phrase walks up A B C D E, so fingers 1 to 5 play it in order.
Easy left-hand chords
Once the melody is comfortable, add these chords in your left hand, one per line or bar: Am | B7 | Am | C.
Chord diagrams: A minor, B dominant 7th, E minor.
Practice tips
- The first five notes are fingers 1 2 3 4 5 in a row. Then C E fall back with fingers 3 and 5.
- The D♯ and B♭ in phrase two are the only black keys.
- Start very slowly and quietly, then speed up each time you repeat it, as Grieg intended.
How to practice this song
- Listen to each line once with the play button.
- Play one line slowly with the right hand until you make no mistakes three times in a row.
- Join two lines together, then the whole song.
- Add the left-hand chords, at half speed, once the melody is automatic.