Piano songs · Beginner
The Blue Danube on piano
The Blue Danube is the most famous waltz ever written, and its main theme is a gift for beginners: it climbs up a chord, C, E, G, then rocks gently on long notes. Here's the theme, in an easy setting in C major.
this song
The Blue Danube sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: C major, 3/4 time. Press Play and the notes light up as they sound. Free to print or save as a PDF.
How to read the rhythms · how to read the notes
About the piece
Johann Strauss II wrote "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314, in 1867, first as a waltz for choir and orchestra in Vienna. It's played every New Year's Day at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, and Stanley Kubrick made it float through space in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The full waltz is in D major; this easy setting of the theme is in C.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: C C E G G; G G E E C; C E G G G; G F F B B; D A A A A; F F B B D; A A A A E; E C C E G; C C C G G; C C E G C; C C A A D; D F A A F♯; G E C E E; D A G C C C; C. Longer boxes are longer notes. Press Play and follow along, slow it down with the speed slider, or turn on Wait for me and play each note yourself.
How to learn it
- Climb the chord: C, C, E, G, then a long G. Your hand is already in C position.
- One, two, three: it's a waltz. Lean on the first beat of each bar, lightly.
- The answer up high: after each climb, two-note chords answer an octave higher. Move your hand early.
- Left hand: the waltz "oom-pah-pah": a low note, then two chords.
Learning The Blue Danube on a real piano? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that runs away. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What are the first notes of The Blue Danube?
In this C major setting: C, C, E, G, G, then the answer up high, G and E. The waltz itself is in D: D, D, F♯, A, A.
Who wrote The Blue Danube?
Johann Strauss II, in 1867. It's in the public domain.
More songs to play
Notes checked against the public-domain Mutopia Project edition (mutopiaproject.org). Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.