Piano songs · Beginner to intermediate
Greensleeves on piano
Greensleeves is one of the oldest tunes everyone knows: a sad, swaying melody in a minor key. Here it is as the carol "What Child Is This" sets it, the tune on top with simple harmony.
this song
Greensleeves sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: E minor, 6/8 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
A ballad called "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered in London in 1580. The legend that Henry VIII wrote it has no evidence behind it: it's in an Italian style that reached England after his death. William Chatterton Dix set Christmas words to it in 1865, "What Child Is This".
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: E G A B C B A; F♯ D E F♯ G; E E D♯ E F♯; B E G A B C B A; F♯ D E F♯ G F♯ E D♯ C♯ D♯ E; E D D C♯ B A; F♯ D E F♯ G; E E D♯ E F♯; D♯ B D D C B A; F♯ D E F♯ G F♯ E D♯ C♯ D♯ E; E. 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
- The swing: it's in 6/8, counted in two big beats, each split in three. The tune goes long-short, long-short.
- E minor: one sharp, F♯, and a D♯ that leads back home to E.
- Two notes in the right hand: the tune is the top note; the lower one is harmony. Learn the top line alone first.
- Let it breathe: each phrase ends on a long note. Hold it and let it fade.
Learning Greensleeves 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 Greensleeves?
In E minor: E, G, A, B, C B, A, F♯, D, E F♯, G, E, E D♯ E, F♯, B.
Is Greensleeves the same tune as What Child Is This?
Yes: "What Child Is This" is William Chatterton Dix's 1865 Christmas carol, sung to Greensleeves.
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.