Traditional 1881 C major 6/8 Beginner 0:16 Both hands
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Row, Row, Row Your Boat is a gentle first tune in 6/8, the rocking rhythm of a boat on the water: count two beats per bar, each divided in three. The melody climbs step by step from middle C to G, jumps up to the C above for the "merrily" line, then runs back down to where it started. This easy version keeps it in C major, all white keys, with a left hand that stays on C and G below middle C. It is only eight bars long, so you can learn the whole song in one sitting: press Listen first, then let Practice mode wait for each note.
Thumb on middle C: the first four bars walk up C D E F G and never leave the five-finger position. In bar 5 the hand moves up so the thumb sits on G and the fourth finger plays the high C; in bar 6 it comes back to the C position for the rest of the song.
The left hand holds C below middle C for a whole bar, or C then G in bars 4 and 6. In bar 7 it plays G under "life is but a", then returns to C for the last bar. Little finger on C, thumb on G.
The 6/8 rhythm. Count "1-2-3, 4-5-6": the long notes in bars 1, 4 and 8 last three or six counts, and in bars 2, 3 and 7 a two-count note is followed by a one-count note, as in "row - your". The "merrily" bars are six even notes: feel them in two groups of three.
Bars 1-4: C C C D E is 1-1-1-2-3, E D E F G is 3-2-3-4-5. Bar 5: the high C with 4 and G with 1, the hand moved up; bar 6: E with 3 and C with 1, the hand back down. Bars 7-8: G F E D C is 5-4-3-2-1.
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: C C C D E E D E F G C C C G G G E E E C C C G F …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C C | Do Do |
| 2 | C D E | Do Ré Mi |
| 3 | E D E F | Mi Ré Mi Fa |
| 4 | G | Sol |
| 5 | C C C G G G | Do Do Do Sol Sol Sol |
| 6 | E E E C C C | Mi Mi Mi Do Do Do |
| 7 | G F E D | Sol Fa Mi Ré |
| 8 | C | Do |
Row, Row, Row Your Boat is an American nursery rhyme. Words close to the ones we sing appeared in print in 1852 with a very different tune; the melody used today was first printed with them in 1881, in The Franklin Square Song Collection, credited to Eliphalet Oram Lyte - though it is not clear whether he composed it or arranged it.
It is best known as a round for up to four voices: one group starts, and the next begins from the top when the first reaches "gently down the stream". It works because the tune hardly leaves the C major chord - the "merrily" bar is that chord, note by note, from the top down - so the parts fit together as each new group comes in.
This transcription: Traditional American round: the melody as sung today, in C major; left hand by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
For kids: Row, Row, Row Your Boat by colors, on a rainbow piano that lights the next key and waits.
Easy Version · C major
Easy Version · C major
Easy Version · C major
Easy Version · C majorThe 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.
In C major: C C C D E, E D E F G, then C C C G G G E E E C C C (starting on the high C), and G F E D C. In Do Ré Mi: Do Do Do Ré Mi, Mi Ré Mi Fa Sol, Do Do Do Sol Sol Sol Mi Mi Mi Do Do Do, Sol Fa Mi Ré Do.
With two players: the first starts at bar 1, and the second starts at bar 1 when the first reaches bar 3. Each player finishes in turn, two bars apart. With more players, each new one comes in two bars after the last.
Yes: eight bars, all white keys and one small hand move. The 6/8 rhythm is the new idea. This version is level 1 of 5.