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Korobeiniki - Piano Sheet Music (Easy Version, the Tetris Melody)

Traditional 19th century A minor 4/4 Easy 0:27 Both hands

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Everyone knows this tune, even without its name: Korobeiniki is the Russian folk song that became the music of Tetris. This easy version plays the melody twice in A minor, with no black keys apart from one G sharp in the left hand. The first time the left hand plays two long bass notes per bar; the second time it adds a chord after each bass note, like a little band. The right hand starts on E: E B C D, C B A, A C E, D C B. Learn it slowly in Practice mode, then speed it up: the faster it goes, the more it sounds like the blocks are falling.

How to play it

How to play Korobeiniki on the piano

Right hand

First phrase: E B C D, C B A, A C E, D C B, C D E, C A A. Second phrase, after a short rest: D F A, G F E, C E, D C B, B C D E, C A A. Then the whole melody again.

Left hand

The first time, two long notes per bar: A and E, then E and B, D and A, C and G. The second time, a bass note then a chord: A then A C E, E then E G sharp B, D then D F A.

Tricky passages

The rest at the start of the second phrase: count "one" silently, then play D on the "and". The long-short rhythm of B, C and E, C needs the same care: hold the first note for a beat and a half.

Fingering

Put 1 on A and the hand covers A B C D E: E B C D C B A is 5-2-3-4-3-2-1. For the second phrase move up: D with 1, F with 3, A with 5, then G F E with 4-3-2.

Notes

Korobeiniki 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: E B C D C B A A C E D C B C D E C A A D F A G F …

BarNotesDo Ré Mi
1 E B C D C B Mi Si Do Ré Do Si
2 A A C E D C La La Do Mi Ré Do
3 B C D E Si Do Ré Mi
4 C A A Do La La
5 D F A G F Ré Fa La Sol Fa
6 E C E D C Mi Do Mi Ré Do
7 B B C D E Si Si Do Ré Mi
8 C A A Do La La
9 E B C D C B Mi Si Do Ré Do Si
10 A A C E D C La La Do Mi Ré Do
11 B C D E Si Do Ré Mi
12 C A A Do La La
13 D F A G F Ré Fa La Sol Fa
14 E C E D C Mi Do Mi Ré Do
15 B B C D E Si Si Do Ré Mi
16 C A A Do La La
Chords

Chords in Korobeiniki

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 A minor: all the chords of the key

About the piece

About Korobeiniki

Korobeiniki means "the peddlers". The words come from a poem by Nikolay Nekrasov, published in 1861, about a young peddler who carries his box of goods from village to village and falls in love with a girl named Katya. Set to a lively tune, it became one of the most popular Russian folk songs.

In 1989 the Game Boy version of Tetris, the falling-blocks game created in Moscow by Alexey Pajitnov, used the melody as its first music track, and the tune travelled around the world. Today many people call it simply the Tetris song.

This transcription: Korobeiniki, Russian folk song to a poem by Nikolay Nekrasov (1861), the folk melody as sung today; easy version in A minor with the left hand by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.

For kids: Korobeiniki by colors, on a rainbow piano that lights the next key and waits.

An upright piano in a snowy Russian village square at night, onion domes behind it and glowing blocks of light falling from the sky
Korobeiniki, as imagined by GOONS Studio (AI illustration)
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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.

Open Korobeiniki in the studio Free online piano
Questions

Korobeiniki on piano: frequently asked

Is Korobeiniki the Tetris song?

Yes. Korobeiniki is a Russian folk song from the 19th century; the Game Boy version of Tetris used it as music in 1989, and it has been known as the Tetris theme ever since.

What are the notes of the Tetris song on piano?

In A minor: E B C D C B A, A C E D C B, C D E C A A, then D F A G F E, C E D C B, B C D E C A A. Every bar is in the Notes section of this page.

What does Korobeiniki mean?

The peddlers: travelling sellers who carried their goods in a box, a korob in Russian. The song comes from a poem by Nikolay Nekrasov published in 1861.