Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Straight rhythms turn into triplets halfway through. A gentle rhythm test.

Level:
3 of 6
Hands:
Right hand
Key:
C major
Notes:
27
Range:
C4 to C5
One run:
about 13 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

27 notes, one at a time.

  1. C4
  2. C4
  3. C4
  4. D4
  5. E4
  6. E4
  7. D4
  8. E4
  9. F4
  10. G4
  11. C5
  12. C5
  13. C5
  14. G4
  15. G4
  16. G4
  17. E4
  18. E4
  19. E4
  20. C4
  21. C4
  22. C4
  23. G4
  24. F4
  25. E4
  26. D4
  27. C4

How to practise it

  1. The "merrily" section is three quick notes per beat
  2. Everything before it moves in plain quarters and eighths
  3. Count out loud through the change of feel

The scale behind it

This one is built on the C Major scale: C D E F G A B (no sharps or flats). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.

How to play it here

Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 27 notes.

What it trains

  • folk
  • rhythm
  • triplets

More melodies

Real tunes, so there is something to play once the drills have paid off.

All piano exercises