Piano songs · Intermediate
Turkish March on piano
Mozart's Turkish March (Rondo alla Turca) is quick, light and instantly recognisable: four little notes circling around A, then a run up the keyboard. Here's the famous opening section.
this song
Turkish March sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: A minor, 2/4 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's the last movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331, written around 1783 and published in 1784. "Alla turca" means "in the Turkish style": Vienna was fascinated by the music of the Ottoman Janissary bands, with their drums and cymbals, which Mozart imitates in the left hand.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: B A G♯ A C; D C B C E; F E D♯ E B A G♯ A B A G♯ A C; A C B A G A B A G A B A G F♯; E E F G G A G F E D; E F G G A G F E D; C D E E F E D C B; C D E E F E D C B. 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 turn: B, A, G♯, A, then C. Fingers 3, 2, 1, 2, then 4. Keep them close to the keys and light.
- Climbing: the same figure starts on D, then on F, then on the high B: watch your hand move up the keyboard.
- Staccato left hand: short, bouncy chords, like a drum. Practise them alone.
- Slow and clean first: it sounds best when every note is even. Use the speed slider and "Wait for me" mode.
Learning Turkish March 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
Is the Turkish March hard?
It's intermediate: the notes are quick and the left hand jumps. The opening section is a good goal after about two years of playing.
What is the Turkish March's real name?
Rondo alla Turca, the third movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331.
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.