This Mary Had A Little Lamb Easy Piano Music always goes down very well with young beginners in their first piano lessons. It is so enjoyable to play a tune that everyone knows. Easy to learn and fun to play! Both excellent incentives to get little ones off on a good start when beginning the piano.
Even if you don’t read music it is easy to pick up this tune. It only uses right hand fingers 1, 2 and 3 on E, D and middle C. So its simple repetitive pattern of just 3 notes is perfect for little ones to grasp. If you are completely new to the piano check out my other First Piano Lesson Series posts which introduce the basics of the piano for beginners.
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A xylophone or chime bars are a great way to get started. Sing the song and playing it on the xylophone or chime bars first as it helps the child to grasp where the notes move up and down. If not, go straight to the piano and work through the following steps together to introduce the child to the notes and rhythm first before attempting to play it.
To print the Mary Had a Little Lamb Easy Piano Music, click here or the image above.
How To Play Mary Had a Little Lamb Easy Piano Music
1. Sing the song together as you play the notes.
2. If you have a xylophone let the child play the tune next as you point to the notes in the correct order. The physical movement helps them to grasp how the notes actually step up and down.
3. Using the printable sheet music, play the following little game together. Ask the child to trace with their finger the path of the notes sliding it either up or down without taking their finger off the paper. As they move it say up-up, down-down accordingly. Warn them to watch out for where the notes ‘hop’ between ‘lamb’ and ‘it’s’ from E to C. Make it sound vocally fun with exaggerated ups, downs and a huge fuss over the hop!
4. Explain that there are four beats in a bar or measure and count 4 beats in together before you start each time. Help the child to place their fingers (in a curved shape) over the correct notes. Talk them through each phrase of the song line by line pointing to the notes as they try to play them. Depending on the age of the child they may need varying levels of help and attempts to manage this.
5. Once the child has mastered playing the tune on their own, there is a simple teacher’s accompaniment which sounds lovely when played as a little duet. This gives a lot of pleasure to fledgling pianists!
For more simple sheet music for kids and free printable music education resources, check out my Pinterest board below.
Follow Sara @ Let’s Play Music’s board First Piano Lessons on Pinterest.
it is easy thx for help
I am unsure about teaching my kids the numbers with the notes and also having the note names on the music. I played flute and piano as a child and my brother then showed me the numbers for the notes. It really messed me up. I don’t want them to memorize the numbers or need to write the notes on the music. How do I keep from messing them up as well? I’m having a hard enough time trying to teach it to them!
Hi,
I understand your concerns regarding confusion when using both note names and numbers.The numbers are there in order to introduce the discipline of fingering, and the note names are really there to assist people who are complete beginners with reading music. These very early pieces are intended to engage and encourage young beginners right from the start and to build confidence.
If learnt and practiced in the correct way, they have the effect of consolidating the knowledge by rote (It is important also to sing the names of the notes as you play, and memorise too.) But these are all stepping stones on the way to learning to read music, much the same as using a combination of methods to learn and build reading skills or for learning times-tables. When children are familiar with these five finger pieces, they can start to play different tunes, but in the same familiar five finger position and they will be able to work out the notes without numbers or note names.
Thanks for raising this very valid point though, I think I will write a post about it soon!
I’m a year late to the party, but I just wanted to say how much I love this! I printed it off and left it sitting on the piano for my son. (We have the note letters taped to the keys.) Three days later he can play his first song on the piano! Zero prompting from me, just pure musical enjoyment. The letters in the notes on the sheet music is pure genius. Thank you!
I’m delighted to hear that your son is showing so much interest in the piano! How exciting for you 🙂 In my First Piano Lessons ebook there are lots more printables, and some animal keycards to play note recognition games to learn the names of the piano keys by sight too. Good luck! 🙂
http://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/first-piano-lessons-ebook/
I have a you tube site but it is not really for children as it covers blues and jazz etc. My daughter said I need to make videos for the grandchildren. I found out they watch my channel. I found a very good program called Midi sheet music. it’s free on Android it imports the midi files on your phone and will work with colors and actually puts the note named in superscript by the note in sheet music. For instance Mary had a Little lamb would have e d c..in superscript after and higher than the note.
This is great for those that are making a transition to the more difficult pieces. if you want any more info. glad to find your channel. You tube channel Pianostyle100 since 2006. 65 subscribers.
Thhanks James! That sounds very interesting, I’ll check out your channel.
This seems very interesting. I have written a chord – book for children explaining each chord and what they mean in abbrieviations:- e.g. C6, Fmaj7, Daug (or D+ etc….
Love the sound of your book – I’m sure kids find it very helpful 🙂
On the let’s play music sheet the first note of the last line, the one that starts “Its fleece was white as snow”
That should start with the C not an E.. 🙂
nvm!! The music sheet is the wrong one… Not the lets play music sheet.
Dear Sara Mulett,
In the “mary-had-a-little-lamb-easy-piano.jpg” there is made a mistake/mistyping. In the first row it says CCC with 333 underneath. Which should be EEE with 333 underneath.
Love your work! Keep it going!
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Sintara – I will get it edited 🙂 Glad you’re enjoying the site!
Mary had a Little Lamb is a fun song for kids to sing. Playing it on the piano would be an accomplishment to be very proud of! And you make it seem very easy to learn to play.
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