Right hand
Put the thumb on middle C, the second finger on D, the third on E, the fourth on G and the fifth on A. The whole tune stays under those five fingers. Each bar is two groups of three eighth notes: G E D, C D E.
Morning Mood - Piano Sheet Music (Easy Version, Flute Theme)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) 1875 C major 6/8 Easy 0:16 Both hands
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Morning Mood is the sunrise of Grieg's Peer Gynt, and its opening tune is one of the gentlest things you can learn on the piano. In the orchestra a flute plays it; this page gives you that flute theme arranged for piano, moved from E major to C major so that it uses only five white keys: C, D, E, G and A. The left hand simply holds a C under every bar, a quiet background for the tune. The four bars are played twice. Press Listen to hear the rocking 6/8 lilt, then switch to Practice and let the score wait for each note while your fingers find the pattern.
How to play it
How to play Morning Mood on the piano
Left hand
One C below middle C per bar, held for the whole bar. Play it softly and let it ring: it is only the background under the tune.
Tricky passages
The end of bar 2 (and bar 6): D-E-D-E in sixteenth notes, twice as fast as the rest. Practise that bar alone with the loop. Bar 4 ends on a quarter-note C followed by a short rest before the theme starts again.
Fingering
Bar 1: 4-3-2-1-2-3. Bar 2: 4-3-2-1-2-3-2-3. Bar 3 (G E G A E A): 4-3-4-5-3-5. Bar 4: 4-3-2-1.
Notes
Morning Mood 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: G E D C D E G E D C D E D E G E G A E A G E D C …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | G E D C D E | Sol Mi Ré Do Ré Mi |
| 2 | G E D C D E D E | Sol Mi Ré Do Ré Mi Ré Mi |
| 3 | G E G A E A | Sol Mi Sol La Mi La |
| 4 | G E D C | Sol Mi Ré Do |
| 5 | G E D C D E | Sol Mi Ré Do Ré Mi |
| 6 | G E D C D E D E | Sol Mi Ré Do Ré Mi Ré Mi |
| 7 | G E G A E A | Sol Mi Sol La Mi La |
| 8 | G E D C | Sol Mi Ré Do |
Chords
Chords in Morning Mood
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 C major: all the chords of the key
About the piece
About Morning Mood
Edvard Grieg wrote Morning Mood in 1875 as part of his incidental music for Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, Op. 23, and later made it the first movement of his Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46. It is in E major, in 6/8, marked Allegretto pastorale. The melody uses a pentatonic scale and passes back and forth between the flute and the oboe before the full orchestra takes it up.
Most listeners picture a Scandinavian dawn, but in the play the music opens Act 4, Scene 4: a sunrise in the Moroccan desert, where Peer Gynt has been left stranded after his companions sailed off with his yacht. Taken out of the theatre and into the suite, the piece has long since become simply the sound of morning.
This transcription: Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt (1875), "Morning Mood": the flute theme, bars 1-4, read from a piano edition of the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (New York: G. Schirmer, 1900); transposed to C major, left hand by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
For kids: Morning Mood 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
Morning Mood on piano: frequently asked
What are the notes of Morning Mood on piano?
In this C major version: G E D C D E, G E D C D E D E, G E G A E A, G E D C - Sol Mi Ré Do Ré Mi, Sol Mi Ré Do Ré Mi Ré Mi, Sol Mi Sol La Mi La, Sol Mi Ré Do. Every bar is in the Notes section.
Why is Morning Mood in C major here?
Grieg wrote it in E major, which has four sharps. Moved down to C major, the same melody uses only white keys, so you can focus on the rhythm and an even, quiet touch.
Which instrument plays the Morning Mood theme?
The flute plays it first, and the oboe answers. This page arranges the flute's opening theme for piano.
Is Morning Mood easy on piano?
This version is easy, level 2 of 5: five notes under five fingers and a left hand that holds one note. The only quick spot is the D-E-D-E figure at the end of the second bar.