Mary Had a Little Lamb

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Traditional · Key of C · 2 chords

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Three notes for most of it, two chords in the left hand, and the first song almost every piano teacher reaches for. There is a reason.

Piano — —

Guitar

Practise one phrase at a time

Why teachers start here

Three notes, side by side

Almost the whole melody is C, D and E — three adjacent white keys. Your hand never moves, so you can think about rhythm instead of hunting for notes.

01

One note out of place

Only the G in bar four leaves the three-note group. Everything else sits under three fingers.

02

Two chords, not three

C and G are the entire left hand. Fewer changes than any other song here.

03

It ends on a whole note

The last note lasts a full bar. Hold it and count four — letting go early is the usual mistake.