Looby Loo
Challenge7 notes61 keys to press6/8
Play it by colors: press Listen, then My turn. The next key lights up and waits for you.
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
Same color twice on the piano? the one on the left the one on the right
The words of Looby Loo
Every syllable sits under its note in the bubbles above. These words are in the public domain.
Now we dance looby,
looby, looby, Now we dance looby, looby light;
Now we dance looby,
looby, looby, Now we dance looby as yesternight.
Shake your right hand a little,
Shake your left hand a little,
Shake your head a little,
And turn you round about.
About this song
Looby Loo is a dancing game: everyone dances round, then shakes a right hand, a left hand and a head, and turns around. The tune is built on four Cs and a jump up to G, then walks back E F D, the same shape again and again. All the notes are white keys, from the low G to the G above middle C. Each note on this page is a colored bubble with its letter and its word. Press Listen to hear it with the keys lighting up, then My turn: the next key glows and waits for your child.
Where the song comes from
Looby Loo is an old circle dance game, close to the Hokey Cokey: each verse shakes another part of the body. Walter Crane's songbook The Baby's Bouquet (1878), used for this page, sings "Now we dance looby, looby, looby".
Playing it together
Three Cs with the thumb, then the little finger jumps to G, and the hand walks E F D E. After playing, stand up and dance it: shake the right hand, the left hand, the head.
Where the tune comes from
The tune and the words on this page come from The Baby's Bouquet, an illustrated songbook by Walter Crane published in 1878 and now in the public domain. The melody is set in an easy key for the rainbow piano, with as few black keys as possible; some old tunes and words differ a little from the versions sung today.
Frequently asked
What are the notes of Looby Loo on piano?
C C C G E F D E, C C C C G E F D C, and the same shape for each line of the dance.
How do you play Looby Loo?
Children hold hands and dance round in a circle for the chorus, then stop to shake the hand, foot or head named in each verse.
Is Looby Loo easy on piano?
Yes: white keys only, with the same pattern repeated.
Play together in GOONS Studio
Everything in the kids section is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds the full piano with 88 keys, drum machines and a sequencer in the browser, to record a song together and play it back, with a 7-day free trial, no card required.