Piano songs · First piece
Row, Row, Row Your Boat on piano
Row, Row, Row Your Boat climbs up the C major scale, from C to G, and then tumbles back down. It's a lovely first song with a rocking, swinging rhythm.
this song
Row, Row, Row Your Boat sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: C major, 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
The song was first published in 1852, and it's one of the best-known rounds: one person starts, and a second starts from the beginning when the first reaches "gently", and the two fit together.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: C C C D E; E D E F G; C C C G G G E E E C C C G; F 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
- Climbing up: C, C, C, D, E, then E, D, E, F, G. One finger per note from your thumb up.
- The rocking rhythm: it's in 6/8, so the beat swings: long-long, then long-short-long. Say the words and the rhythm follows.
- "Merrily": high C three times, G three times, E three times, C three times. Your hand jumps up an octave for the high C, then walks back down.
- Then the left hand: a low C held for each bar, and a G near the end.
Learning Row, Row, Row Your Boat 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 Row, Row, Row Your Boat on piano?
C C C D E, E D E F G, C C C G G G E E E C C C, G F E D C.
Can you play Row, Row, Row Your Boat as a round on piano?
Yes: play it with your right hand and have someone else (or your left hand, an octave lower) start from the beginning when you reach "gently".
More songs to play
A simple arrangement of a public-domain melody. Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.