Right hand
The pickup and bar 1 are five half steps in a row: D, C#, C, B, B-flat. Bar 2 goes on down: A, G#, G. Bars 3 and 4 settle around F and E above middle C. Bars 5 to 8 repeat the shape and end on the D above middle C.
Habanera - Piano Sheet Music (Theme, First Verse)
Georges Bizet (1838-1875) 1875 D minor 2/4 Intermediate 0:14 Both hands
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The Habanera is Carmen's entrance song, and its tune slides down the keyboard one half step at a time: D, C#, C, B, B-flat, A. This page arranges the first verse for piano, "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" up to "s'il lui convient de refuser", with Carmen's line in the right hand and, in the left, the habanera bass that the orchestra repeats under the whole song. It stays in Bizet's key, D minor. It is a step up from the easiest pieces because of the triplets and the half steps, so press Listen first, then use Practice at a slow tempo, right hand alone, until the slide feels natural.
How to play it
How to play Habanera on the piano
Left hand
The same bar every time: low D, a short rest, A, then F and A - the habanera rhythm. Learn it alone until it runs by itself; the right hand is easier to add once the left hand is automatic.
Tricky passages
Bars 1 and 5 start with three C's as a triplet, then two plain eighth notes, B and B-flat: three notes in one beat, then two in the next. Bars 3 and 7 begin with a tiny triplet turn (F-G-F, E-F-E). Count slowly and say "tri-pl-et, one-and".
Fingering
Pickup and bar 1: D C# C C C B B-flat with 5-4-3-3-3-2-1. Bar 2: A A A G# G with 5-5-5-4-3, after moving the hand down so the thumb sits on E. Bar 3: 2-3-2-1-2-3-2, and the E of bar 4 with 1.
Notes
Habanera 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: D C# C C C B Bb A A A G# G F G F E F G F E D C# C C …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | D C# | Ré Do# |
| 1 | C C C B Bb | Do Do Do Si Sib |
| 2 | A A A G# G | La La La Sol# Sol |
| 3 | F G F E F G F | Fa Sol Fa Mi Fa Sol Fa |
| 4 | E D C# | Mi Ré Do# |
| 5 | C C C B Bb | Do Do Do Si Sib |
| 6 | A A A G F | La La La Sol Fa |
| 7 | E F E D E F E | Mi Fa Mi Ré Mi Fa Mi |
| 8 | D | Ré |
About the piece
About Habanera
Carmen, Georges Bizet's opéra comique, was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, with Célestine Galli-Marié as Carmen. The Habanera is her entrance aria in the first act. Bizet rewrote it several times during rehearsals before he and Galli-Marié were satisfied with it.
The melody is adapted from "El Arreglito", a habanera by the Spanish composer Sebastián Iradier published in 1863, which Bizet believed to be a folk song. When he learned otherwise, he added a note about it in the vocal score. Each verse is in D minor and each refrain in D major, over a bass that keeps returning to D.
This transcription: Bizet, Carmen (1875), No. 5 Habanera: the first verse of Carmen's line, read from the vocal score (New York: G. Schirmer, 1895), and the habanera bass of the orchestra, in D minor; arrangement by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
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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
Habanera on piano: frequently asked
What are the notes of the Habanera on piano?
In D minor, the first verse starts D C#, C C C B B-flat, A A A G# G, F G F E F G F, E - Ré Do#, Do Do Do Si Sib, La La La Sol# Sol, Fa Sol Fa Mi Fa Sol Fa, Mi. Every bar is in the Notes section.
What are the words of the Habanera?
It begins "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle que nul ne peut apprivoiser" - love is a rebellious bird that nobody can tame. This page covers the first four lines of the verse.
Did Bizet write the Habanera tune?
He adapted it from "El Arreglito", a habanera by Sebastián Iradier published in 1863, which Bizet thought was a folk song. Bizet added the chromatic twists, the triplets in the vocal line and the harmony.
Is the Habanera hard on piano?
This version is level 3 of 5: the notes are close together, but the triplets, the half steps and the habanera rhythm in the left hand take some practice.