How to play Mary Had a Little Lamb on piano
- Level
- Very easy
- Key
- C major
- Composer
- Traditional (Sarah Josepha Hale, lyrics)
- Written
- 1830
The poem was published by Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830 and set to this simple tune soon after. It was also the first thing Thomas Edison recorded on his phonograph in 1877. Three of its four phrases use just C, D and E, so it is ideal for building finger independence.
Mary Had a Little Lamb letter notes
Press play to hear each line while the keys light up. Then play along, one line at a time.
Mary had a little lamb
EDCDEEE
Little lamb, little lamb
DDDEGG
Mary had a little lamb, its
EDCDEEEE
Fleece was white as snow
DDEDC
Underlined notes are long notes: hold them for two beats or more.
Hand position
Right hand: thumb on C, finger 2 on D, finger 3 on E. Finger 5 reaches G.
Easy left-hand chords
Once the melody is comfortable, add these chords in your left hand, one per line or bar: C | G C | C | G C.
Chord diagrams: C major, G major.
Practice tips
- Use fingers 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 3 for E D C D E. Keep each finger over its own key so you never need to look down.
- The repeated notes should be even. Count '1 2 3 4' out loud.
- The left hand can play a C chord throughout, switching to G for 'fleece was white'.
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.