Piano songs · First piece
Hot Cross Buns on piano
Hot Cross Buns is the smallest song there is: three notes, E, D and C, and four short lines. If you've never played the piano before, start here.
this song
Hot Cross Buns sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: C major, 4/4 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
It began as a street cry: the call of sellers of spiced buns on Good Friday in 18th-century London. It's been a first song for recorder and piano players ever since.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: E D C E D; C C C C C D D D D E; D 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
- Three fingers, three notes: right thumb on C, finger 2 on D, finger 3 on E. You never move your hand.
- Going down: "hot cross buns" is E, D, C, a walk down. The last note is twice as long.
- The quick notes: "one a penny, two a penny" is four quick Cs then four quick Ds. Keep them even, twice as fast as the others.
- Then both hands: a low C under each line, with a G in the third.
Learning Hot Cross Buns 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 notes for Hot Cross Buns on piano?
E D C, E D C, C C C C D D D D, E D C.
What is the easiest song on piano?
Hot Cross Buns: three notes in one hand position, E D C, with one quick passage.
More songs to play
A simple arrangement of a public-domain melody. Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.