Baa Baa Black Sheep is a very popular nursery rhymes for the piano. It has a very simple and catchy melody, which is also used for the songs Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Alphabet Song. Many students learn this tune already during the first piano lessons. In this free piano tutorial we will learn a little more about the origin of Baa Baa Black Sheep and show you how to play it on the piano with letter notes and the sheet music. You can also download the lyrics with the letter and sheet music for free as PDF printables at the end of the lesson.
Origin of Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa Baa Black Sheep is a traditional English nursery rhyme dating back to the 18th century. The earliest version of the rhyme was published in 1744 in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book in England. The lyrics are thought to refer to the medieval wool tax imposed during the reign of King Edward I in the 13th century, where one-third of the wool produced was taken as a tax by the king, another third by the church, and the final third was left for the farmer, represented by the “master,” “dame,” and “little boy” in the song. Black sheep were also considered unlucky because their fleeces, which could not be dyed, were less lucrative for the farmer.
Piano Letter Notes for Baa baa Black Sheep
Baa Baa Black Sheep is a nice children’s song for piano beginners. But when young children start playing the piano, they don’t know much about music theory. And usually piano songs are played with notes. But this can be overwhelming for young students and they need an easier introduction to some simple songs. That’s why, at the beginning, it’s quite enough to have the piano notes written over the lyrics. Sure, they need to know where to find each note on the piano, but you can label the piano keys for beginners so they know how to identify the right keys.
However, in order to reduce the student’s dependence on the piano key labels, you should remove them after the child can confidently play a few songs. And be sure to check out our article on how to read piano notes, where we explain how to easily remember and find the piano keys on the keyboard, and how they correspond to the notes on the sheet music.
Here are the keys on the keyboard that you have to use for the song Baa Baa Black Sheep
The following chart with the lyrics and the letter notes enables you to learn and play Baa Baa Black Sheep in an easy way:
Listen to the recording below to play along or to check if you got it right on the piano!
Every song can be played with either one or two hands. While using only one hand is simpler than playing with both hands simultaneously, playing single notes with one hand is also easier than playing chords. For this reason, beginners should start by playing the melody one note at a time with one hand. Intermediate players can progress to combining both the right and left hands in their playing. Therefore, we include also the piano chords in the sheet music.
Piano Sheet Music for Baa Baa Black Sheep
When we play a song on the piano, we usually use sheet music. But for young beginners, reading music can be quite a challenge. However, short and simple nursery rhymes are the perfect introduction to sheet music. And if you already know how to read music, try playing Baa Baa Black Sheep with it.
Here are the music notes for Baa Baa Black Sheep:
Free PDF Printables for Baa Baa Black Sheep
Download the free PDF files for the piano letter notes and sheet music and print them out, so that you can learn and teach Baa Baa Black Sheep anywhere you want!
Interested in instruments other than the piano? You can also find a free lesson on how to play Baa Baa Black Sheep on the guitar, ukulele and recorder.
