Surprise Symphony Theme (Haydn)

Haydn's quiet tune in Middle C position, with the famous loud chord at the end.

Level:
4 of 6
Hands:
Both hands
Key:
C major
Notes:
31
Range:
C3 to C5
One run:
about 13 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

25 moments, 31 notes in total, some struck together.

  1. C4
  2. C4
  3. E4
  4. E4
  5. G4
  6. G4
  7. E4
  8. F4
  9. F4
  10. D4
  11. D4
  12. B3
  13. B3
  14. G3
  15. C4
  16. C4
  17. E4
  18. E4
  19. G4
  20. G4
  21. E4
  22. E4
  23. C4
  24. G3
  25. C3 + E3 + G3 + C4 + E4 + G4 + C5

How to practise it

  1. Pairs of repeated notes throughout: keep them light and exactly even
  2. The B and the G below middle C belong to the left hand, everything else to the right
  3. Play the whole theme as quietly as you can, then give the last chord everything. That is the joke

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 31 notes.

What it trains

  • adult beginner
  • classical
  • hands together
  • repeated notes
  • chords

More adult beginner course

Piano for adult beginners, in the order the method books teach it: black keys and finger numbers, Middle C, pentascales, primary chords, then real pieces with both hands.

All piano exercises