  {"id":79087,"date":"2025-12-12T12:23:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edwinm29.sg-host.com\/?p=79087"},"modified":"2025-12-23T07:12:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T06:12:47","slug":"piano-tutorial-greensleeves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/piano-tutorial-greensleeves\/","title":{"rendered":"Play &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; on piano: notes and lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"col-6\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-32128 aligncenter\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Profile-mozart-300x300.png\" alt=\"mozart\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Profile-mozart-300x300.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Profile-mozart-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Profile-mozart-640x640.png 640w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Profile-mozart.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-6 pl-30 pr-30\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Interesting fact<\/em><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><em>For a long time people loved to say that &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; was written by King Henry VIII as a love song for Anne Boleyn. It\u2019s a great story\u2026 however it\u2019s almost certainly not true. The tune first shows up in print in 1580, more than 30 years after Henry died, and its musical style matches later Elizabethan songs, not his time.<\/em><br \/>\n<span class='maxbutton-5-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-5 maxbutton maxbutton-contact-us\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Go to the lesson\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/en\/promotions\/1m-blog-npd?utm_source=blog&#038;utm_medium=song-pages&#038;utm_content=gotolesson\"><span class='mb-text'>Go to the lesson<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>You\u2019ve probably heard &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; before, that beautiful, slightly haunting melody that sticks in your head. Now it\u2019s time to play it on your own piano.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll keep things friendly and practical. In this easy &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; piano guide, we\u2019ll walk you step by step through a beginner-friendly version with clear right-hand melody with &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; piano note letters, simple left-hand chords and tips to put both hands together without feeling overwhelmed. Ready to learn? Let\u2019s get your hands on the keys and learn &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; step by step.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Video tutorial<\/b><\/h2>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\"><iframe title=\"Greensleeves | EASY Piano Tutorial\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LLr5WeYd85o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this short video tutorial, you will learn how to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hear how &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should sound on piano<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See the right-hand melody and left-hand pattern in action<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch how we keep the tempo slow and steady for beginners<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find the full beginner arrangement of &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on piano<\/span>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/en\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd\">Start a free trial today<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"componentContainer\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"column\"><div class=\"h2Notable\">Start your musical journey<\/div><ul><li><span><strong>Fall in love with the music -<\/strong> Learn your favorite songs, at a level suitable for you.<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>Enjoy interactive piano lessons -<\/strong> Explore courses covering music theory, technique chords & more.<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>Get real-time feedback -<\/strong> Skoove's feedback tells you what went well and what needs practice.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"column\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/optimized\/iPhone15-1A-3-800.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"846\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" \/><\/div><\/div><small><\/small><a class=\"skooveButton skooveButtonWithin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Book a trial lesson\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=btf&utm_campaign=7d-blog-npd&t=Start%20a%207%20day%20free%20trial&st=No%20credit%20card%20required!\" rel=\"noopener\">Book a trial lesson<\/a><small>No credit card details required<\/small><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>&#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; <\/b><b>piano notes\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For this &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> piano tutorial, we\u2019ll keep things simple and stay in<a href=\"\/blog\/e-minor-chord\/\"> E minor<\/a> and in 3\/4 time. Let\u2019s look at a few key features:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right hand plays the melody, this is in E minor so has an F# and a raised 7th of D# in certain phrases.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The left hand plays gentle two-note chords built on E, D, C, and B (the classic &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> bass).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this version, we keep your hands close to the middle of the keyboard so you don\u2019t have to stretch or jump far. Let\u2019s break down the notes in each hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-79093\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-e1765532340460.png\" alt=\"Greensleeves piano notes\" width=\"605\" height=\"269\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The notes of the right hand melody<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at the treble staff (top line). The first note after the rest is the E above <a href=\"\/blog\/middle-c-on-piano\/\">middle C.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set your thumb on the E and following the fingerings on the sheet music play this first phrase:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>E &#8211; G &#8211; A &#8211; B &#8211; C &#8211; B &#8211; A &#8211; F# &#8211; D<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-79265\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-piano-notes-in-left-hand.gif\" alt=\"Greensleeves piano notes in right hand\" width=\"1944\" height=\"896\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Bass notes and chords<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now look at the bass staff (bottom line). Each bar has a two-note chord, held for the whole bar. They\u2019re open fifths with some interesting movement between them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typical main structure of the first progression is:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>E\u2013B<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (E minor)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>D\u2013A<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (D major)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>C\u2013G<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (C major)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b style=\"font-style: inherit;\">B\u2013F\u266f<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (B major)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-79281 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824.jpg\" alt=\"Greensleeves Bass notes and chords\" width=\"1706\" height=\"840\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824.jpg 1706w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824-300x148.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824-1024x504.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824-768x378.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824-1536x756.jpg 1536w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-bass-chords-scaled-e1766053739824-640x315.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each three note chord is played with the left hand using three fingers. Try this hand position for each of them:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pinky (5)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middle finger (3)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thumb (1)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-79273\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Greensleeves-piano-notes-in-right-hand.gif\" alt=\"Greensleeves piano notes in left hand\" width=\"1080\" height=\"498\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, you should be able to play the right and left hands of &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the piano, and add some chords in if you\u2019re feeling confident. To make this tune really sing, we need both hands at the same time. Try the lesson plan below and you\u2019ll start to make &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> truly yours.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Lesson plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s have a look at a guided lesson plan to take you through the &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">piano tutorial.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Step 1: listen to the song<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listen to &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a couple of times to get a sense of its overall structure and nuances.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Step 2: practice the &#8220;<\/b><b>Greensleeves&#8221;<\/b><b> chords<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take a look at the chord charts and practice <a href=\"\/blog\/piano-chords\/\">playing the chords<\/a>. Make sure that you\u2019re paying attention to your hand positioning.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Step 3: try the tune in the right hand<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next try playing the melody in the right hand only initially and get accustomed to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Step 4: learn the left hand accompaniment<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now take a look at the accompaniment in the left hand and get more familiar with that part.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Step 5: play both hands together<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve learned the song for both hands separately, you can try playing hands together. It\u2019s helpful to start slowly and then increase tempo as you get more accustomed to playing both parts simultaneously. You can <a href=\"\/blog\/online-metronome\/\">use the metronome<\/a> in the Skoove app to help with this.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>From first notes to full song &#8211; grow with Skoove<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ve just learned the full &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; piano song. Well done! To keep growing, don\u2019t stop here. Inside the Skoove app, you can: Practice &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; with guided notation and backing tracks, slow the song down, loop tricky bars, and get real-time feedback and explore many more songs.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each time you sit at the piano, you\u2019re making &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greensleeves&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sound a little smoother and a little more like your own version. When you\u2019re ready for your next piece, Skoove will be there to guide you step by step. Happy playing!<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\"><iframe title=\"Skoove\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/479012867?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"231\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class='maxbutton-1-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-christmas\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Start free trial\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/en\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd\"><span class='mb-text'>Start free trial<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Author of this blog post:<\/strong><br \/>\nSusana P\u00e9rez Posada<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-6965 aligncenter\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Susana-Pe\u0301rez-Posada-1.png\" alt=\"Susana P\u00e9rez Posada\" width=\"179\" height=\"184\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">With over seven years in piano education and a deep passion for music therapy, Susana brings a unique blend of expertise to Skoove. A graduate in Music Therapy from SRH Hochschule Heidelberg and an experienced classical pianist from Universidad EAFIT, she infuses her teaching with a holistic approach that transcends traditional piano lessons. In her writings for Skoove, Susana combines her rich musical knowledge with engaging storytelling, enriching the learning experience for pianists of all levels. Away from the piano, she loves exploring new places and immersing herself in a good book, believing these diverse experiences enhance her creative teaching style.<\/p>\n<div class=\"editorSection\">Edited and fact-checked by Matthew Dickman, composer, arranger, educator and multi-instrumentalist whose works have been performed by orchestras around the world.<br \/>\nPublished by the Skoove team<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interesting fact For a long time people loved to say that &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; was written by King Henry VIII as a love song for Anne Boleyn. It\u2019s a great story\u2026 however it\u2019s almost certainly not true. The tune first shows up in print in 1580, more than 30 years after Henry died, and its musical style &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"\/blog\/piano-tutorial-greensleeves\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Play &#8220;Greensleeves&#8221; on piano: notes and lesson<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":79117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Greensleeves easy piano tutorial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Want to play Greensleeves on piano? Learn an easy version with notes, letters and chords, plus a step-by-step lesson plan to practice with Skoove.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[242,453],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-best-piano-songs","category-piano-tutorials"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}