Row, Row, Row Your Boat: easy piano notes
This version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat uses six white keys: C, D, E, F, G and the high C. The tune climbs step by step from C to G, jumps up to the high C and comes back down, all in eight bars.
Key: C major. Time: 6/8. Range: C4–C5. Hand: right hand for the melody. This page contains the melody without a left-hand accompaniment.
Find the six keys
Look for a group of two black keys near the middle of the keyboard. C is the white key immediately to their left. The white keys to its right are D, E, F and G. The high C, C5, is the next C up, an octave above C4. The number 4 in C4 names the octave; middle C is C4.
One comfortable position is thumb on C4 and little finger on G4. For the high C in bar 5, let the hand move up and then come back.
The complete melody, counted in eighth notes
Each row below is one bar of 6/8: six eighth notes in two groups of three. The number after a note is its length in eighth notes: (1) one eighth, (2) two, (3) three, a dotted quarter note, and (6) the whole bar. Feel two slow beats per bar, each made of three quick counts.
Bars 1–4 climb from C4 to G4 with a long-short swing. Bars 5–6 come down in groups of three quick notes: C5 C5 C5, G4 G4 G4, E4 E4 E4, C4 C4 C4. Bars 7–8 step down G4 F4 E4 D4 to a long C4.
| Bar | Notes and beats |
|---|---|
| 1 |
C(3)
C(3)
|
| 2 |
C(2)
D(1)
E(3)
|
| 3 |
E(2)
D(1)
E(2)
F(1)
|
| 4 |
G(6)
|
| 5 |
C(1)
C(1)
C(1)
G(1)
G(1)
G(1)
|
| 6 |
E(1)
E(1)
E(1)
C(1)
C(1)
C(1)
|
| 7 |
G(2)
F(1)
E(2)
D(1)
|
| 8 |
C(6)
|
Try one small part at a time
- Start with bars 1–2: two long C4s, then C4 long, D4 short and a long E4. Count one-two-three, four-five-six.
- Play bars 3–4: E4 long, D4 short, E4 long, F4 short, then G4 held for the whole bar.
- Try bars 5–6 slowly: three quick notes on each key, C5, G4, E4 and C4.
- Finish with bars 7–8: G4 long, F4 short, E4 long, D4 short, then a long C4. Put the parts together only when your child is ready.
Letter names and notes on the staff
Letter names help you find the keys. The staff shows how pitches move higher or lower, and the note shapes show their lengths. In 6/8 the quick notes are joined by beams in groups of three, one group for each slow beat.
You can print this page using your browser’s print command. Keep the eighth-note table with the score if your child still needs help with note lengths.
Questions about this version
How many keys does the tune use?
Six white keys: C4, D4, E4, F4, G4 and C5.
Why is it counted in eighth notes?
The song is in 6/8: each bar has six eighth notes that fall into two groups of three. Counting the eighths makes the long-short swing of bars 2, 3 and 7 easy to see.
Why are there different versions online?
Older songbooks write the tune in 2/4 with a dotted rhythm and triplets. This version writes it in 6/8, where the same swing is plain eighth notes. The notes are the same.
Continue with guided practice
Row, Row, Row Your Boat is one of the songs in the Soitilo song library. Each playing task begins with Practice, where the accompaniment waits for your child, before Play with the accompaniment. Soitilo works on the screen, with a MIDI keyboard (USB cable or Bluetooth, on a device that supports it) or with a piano heard through the microphone.
For parents: explore how the learning path works and what is included for free.
Start with the basics and Chapter 1 at no cost. Optional subscriptions open more learning and songs. The iPhone and iPad version is coming soon to the App Store.
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