Yankee Doodle piano notes and sheet music

The Yankee Doodle piano notes above are shown two ways: as sheet music in C major and 2/4 time, with the letter name under every note, and on the Letter notes tab as plain letters. The arrangement has one verse and the chorus, and every note is a white key, from the E above middle C to the F more than an octave above it. Listen plays the tune and highlights each note in the sheet, while Practice lights one key at a time and waits for you to press it. It is an easy song: quick and cheerful, but built from small steps and a handful of short patterns.

About Yankee Doodle

The tune is older than the words, and where it first came from is unknown. The earliest words are usually credited to Richard Shuckburgh, a surgeon with the British army, who is said to have written them around 1755 to 1758 during the French and Indian War to mock the untidy colonial soldiers serving alongside the British. A "macaroni" was a fashion-mad dandy, so a Yankee who stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni was the butt of the joke.

The Americans turned the joke around. During the Revolutionary War they adopted the song and added their own verses, and it was played at the British surrender at Saratoga in 1777. Today Yankee Doodle is the state song of Connecticut and one of the best-known American tunes. The melody on this page follows the version printed in The Everyday Song Book of 1927, moved from A major to C major.

How to play Yankee Doodle

The verse sits around the C an octave above middle C, and the chorus dips a little lower.

• The verse. Put your thumb on G, the G above middle C, and spread your fingers so 2, 3, 4 and 5 rest on B, C, D and E, skipping A. The verse begins with the pickup G, thumb, then C C D E, fingers 3 3 4 5. For the single A near the end of the verse, let your thumb or second finger slide over to it.
• The one F. In the second half of the verse the tune reaches F, the highest note in the song, and steps straight back down E, D, C. Stretch your little finger one key past E to take it.
• The chorus. Move your hand down so your thumb is on F: now F, G, A, B and C are fingers 1 to 5. The chorus starts on A and circles through these five notes. Reach your thumb down to E once in the middle, and stretch your little finger up to D just before the end. The last two notes are both C.

Counting the rhythm

Yankee Doodle is in 2/4: two beats in a bar, counted "1-and 2-and". Almost the whole verse moves in eighth notes, one note on every count, so it should sound as even as a march. The very first G is an eighth-note pickup on the "and" of 2, before bar one begins.

The chorus adds a dotted rhythm: a dotted eighth note and a quick sixteenth. The long note takes three quarters of the beat and the short one the last quarter, which gives the chorus its bouncing, skipping feel. Two bars of the chorus end with an eighth rest, a tiny breath before the next phrase.

Practice tips

• Count out loud. Saying "1-and 2-and" keeps the eighth notes of the verse from rushing, which is the most common problem with fast, cheerful tunes.
• Separate the dotted notes. In the chorus, lift slightly after each short note so the rhythm stays crisp instead of becoming even.
• Learn the chorus on its own first. It is the less familiar half for many players, and once it is secure the verse feels easy.
• Keep your hand relaxed. The verse repeats notes quickly, so let each key come back up fully before you press it again.

For another tune from American history, try The Star-Spangled Banner, a longer and more demanding piece.

Printable sheet music

Here is the same arrangement on a single page, with the letter name under every note. Open the image to print it or save it; the Print sheet music button above the keyboard prints it too.