Right hand
The melody fits in a small space, from the F above middle C to the F an octave higher. Start with the thumb on A and keep the hand around A-to-E, opening it a little for the top F.
Brahms' Lullaby - Piano Sheet Music (Easy Version)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) 1868 F major 3/4 Easy 0:36 Both hands
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Brahms' Lullaby is the cradle song everyone hums, and it lies beautifully under the hands: a gentle melody in 3/4 that rocks between the same few notes, with a pick-up of two short notes before each phrase. This easy version gives you the whole tune in F major, read from a 19th-century edition, with a left hand that holds one bass note per bar - F, C or B-flat. The only black key is that B-flat. Play it slowly and quietly, keep the two pick-up notes light so they lead into the long note that follows, and learn the melody in Practice mode before adding the bass.
How to play it
How to play Brahms' Lullaby on the piano
Left hand
One bass note per bar, held for three beats: F, C or B-flat below middle C. Play it softly, just enough to colour the melody.
Tricky passages
The pick-up notes (A A, F F) are short and light and the next note is long: think 'lul-la-BY'. In bar 3 the E is a dotted note, longer than it looks - count 'one, two-and-three'. Watch the B-flats in the second half.
Fingering
First phrase, right hand: A A C with 1-1-3, twice; then A C F E D with 1-3-5-4-3, the hand opened a little for the F.
Notes
Brahms' Lullaby piano notes
The right-hand melody of this version, bar by bar, in letter names and in Do Ré Mi. Sharps are written #, flats b; a note held across a bar line is written once.
Melody: A A C A A C A C F E D D C G A Bb G G A Bb G Bb E D …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | A A | La La |
| 1 | C A A | Do La La |
| 2 | C A C | Do La Do |
| 3 | F E D | Fa Mi Ré |
| 4 | D C G A | Ré Do Sol La |
| 5 | Bb G G A | Sib Sol Sol La |
| 6 | Bb G Bb | Sib Sol Sib |
| 7 | E D C E | Mi Ré Do Mi |
| 8 | F F F | Fa Fa Fa |
| 9 | F D Bb | Fa Ré Sib |
| 10 | C A F | Do La Fa |
| 11 | Bb C D | Sib Do Ré |
| 12 | C F F | Do Fa Fa |
| 13 | F D Bb | Fa Ré Sib |
| 14 | C A F | Do La Fa |
| 15 | Bb A G | Sib La Sol |
| 16 | F | Fa |
Chords
Chords in Brahms' Lullaby
The chords this arrangement holds for at least two bars, read from the score with the root in the bass. Each one opens its page: the notes, every inversion and the fingering, playable on a piano.
The piece is in F major: all the chords of the key
About the piece
About Brahms' Lullaby
Johannes Brahms wrote the Wiegenlied (cradle song), Op. 49 No. 4, in 1868 for his friend Bertha Faber, who had just had her second son. He had known her as a singer in his women's choir in Hamburg, and he hid in the piano part an Austrian folk song she used to sing to him - a private joke for the new mother.
The first verse of the words comes from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, the famous collection of German folk poetry. The song was published by Simrock the same year and first sung in public in Vienna in December 1869; it soon became one of the best-loved songs ever written, heard on music boxes and sung in every language as Lullaby and Good Night.
This transcription: Brahms, Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 (1868): the vocal melody as printed in an 1890s Leipzig edition in F major (C. G. Röder); bass line by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
For kids: Brahms' Lullaby by colors, on a rainbow piano that lights the next key and waits.
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In the studio
Practise with your MIDI keyboard, record your take, export MIDI
The full piano studio opens this score with your MIDI keyboard and sustain pedal, records what you play and exports it as a MIDI file. It comes with the GOONS Studio subscription - start with the 7-day free trial, no card required.
Questions
Brahms' Lullaby on piano: frequently asked
What are the notes of Brahms' Lullaby on piano?
In F major: A A C, A A C, A C F E D, D C G A, B-flat G G A, B-flat G B-flat E D C E F... The whole song is listed bar by bar in the Notes section, in letters and in Do Ré Mi.
What are the words of Brahms' Lullaby?
The German original begins 'Guten Abend, gut' Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht' (Good evening, good night, covered with roses). The best-known English version begins 'Lullaby, and good night'.
Is Brahms' Lullaby easy to play?
Yes, it is level 2 of 5 here: a slow melody in a small range with one black key, B-flat, and a left hand that holds one note per bar. The 3/4 rhythm with its short pick-up notes is the main thing to learn.