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Yankee Doodle - Piano Sheet Music (Easy Version, Verse and Chorus)

Traditional 18th century G major 2/4 Beginner 0:17 Both hands

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Yankee Doodle is a marching tune that almost plays itself: quick, even notes that climb G A B and come back, in a steady two-beat rhythm. This easy version gives you the verse and the chorus in G major, with the melody in the right hand and one long bass note per bar in the left. There is just one black key, F sharp, in "po-ny", "mac-a-ro-ni" and the chorus. The verse starts on G, the chorus on the E below it: "Yankee Doodle, keep it up". Count "one-and, two-and" and keep every quaver the same length - it should sound like a fife and drum band.

How to play it

How to play Yankee Doodle on the piano

Right hand

The verse: G G A B, G B A and a low D, G G A B, G and F sharp; then G G A B, C B A G, F sharp D E F sharp, G G. The chorus starts on E: E F sharp E D, E F sharp G, D E D C, B and D.

Left hand

One note per bar, held for two beats: G, D, G, D in the first half of the verse, then G, C, D, G. The chorus uses C, G and D the same way.

Tricky passages

The low D at the end of bar 2 ("a-" of "a-riding"): it is a jump down a fifth from A. Look at it before you play, then come straight back up to G.

Fingering

Put 1 on G and leave the hand there: G A B C with 1-2-3-4, the low D with 1 after a small shift, or play it with the thumb stretched. In the chorus start E with 1.

Notes

Yankee Doodle 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 G A B G B A D G G A B G F# G G A B C B A G F# D …

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

About Yankee Doodle

Yankee Doodle goes back to the years before the American Revolution, when British officers sang it to make fun of the badly dressed colonial soldiers, the "Yankees". The Americans adopted the song and sang it back at the British as a song of pride.

In the 18th century a "macaroni" was a man who followed the latest Italian fashion: sticking a feather in his cap and calling it macaroni is the joke of the first verse. Today Yankee Doodle is the official state song of Connecticut.

This transcription: Traditional American song (18th century), the tune as sung today; verse and chorus in G major, left hand by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.

On guitar: Yankee Doodle guitar chords and lyrics, with a guitar that strums along.

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

An upright piano on a colonial village green at dusk with a feathered tricorn hat, a toy pony, a drum and a fife
Yankee Doodle, as imagined by GOONS Studio (AI illustration)
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Questions

Yankee Doodle on piano: frequently asked

What are the notes of Yankee Doodle on piano?

In G major: G G A B G B A D, G G A B G F sharp, G G A B C B A G, F sharp D E F sharp G G. The chorus: E F sharp E D E F sharp G, D E D C B D. Every bar is in the Notes section of this page.

Is Yankee Doodle easy for beginners?

Yes: level 1 of 5. The melody uses six notes close together, with one black key, and the left hand plays one note per bar.

What does macaroni mean in Yankee Doodle?

In 18th-century England a macaroni was a fashionable young man in the latest Italian style. The song laughs at a country Yankee who thinks a feather in his cap makes him one.