Yankee Doodle (Middle C Position)

Verse and chorus in Middle C position: the left hand takes every note below middle C.

Level:
2 of 6
Hands:
Both hands
Key:
C major
Notes:
54
Range:
G3 to D5
One run:
about 49 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

54 notes, one at a time.

  1. C4
  2. C4
  3. D4
  4. E4
  5. C4
  6. E4
  7. D4
  8. G3
  9. C4
  10. C4
  11. D4
  12. E4
  13. C4
  14. B3
  15. C4
  16. C4
  17. D4
  18. E4
  19. F4
  20. E4
  21. D4
  22. C4
  23. B3
  24. G3
  25. A3
  26. B3
  27. C4
  28. C4
  29. A4
  30. B4
  31. A4
  32. G4
  33. A4
  34. B4
  35. C5
  36. G4
  37. A4
  38. G4
  39. F4
  40. E4
  41. G4
  42. A4
  43. B4
  44. A4
  45. G4
  46. A4
  47. B4
  48. C5
  49. G4
  50. C5
  51. B4
  52. D5
  53. C5
  54. C5

How to practise it

  1. Right thumb on middle C, left thumb on the B next to it: this is Middle C position
  2. The verse dips below middle C three times, and that is the left hand's job
  3. The chorus climbs to D above the staff: reach with finger 5, do not move the hand

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 54 notes.

What it trains

  • adult beginner
  • folk
  • hands together
  • rhythm
  • hand position

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