The song Mary Had A Little Lamb dates back to 1830. It is a well-known English nursery rhyme. Because it only uses a 5-note range on the piano, it’s easy to play on the piano. you are going to learn the song using only the black keys!

The black piano keys are grouped 2 then 3 all over the keyboard. You’re going to use a group of 3 black keys and then the first black key in the group of 2, directly above. In the middle of the piano find 3 black keys grouped together. These are called F# (sharp), G#, and A#. The extra note you are going to play is C#.

Piano fingering refers to the number given to each finger. The thumb = 1, the index finger = 2, up to the little finger = 5. This fingering is the same for both the right and left hands.

To play the melody with your right hand, place 1 (thumb) on F#. This is the lowest of the 3 quarter notes. Place finger 2 in G#, finger 3 in A#, and finger 5 in C#. It will feel like you are on stilts!

To play the melody in the left hand, place 5 in F#, 4 in G#, 3 in A#, and 1 in C#.

Here are the notes of the nursery rhyme:

A# G# F# G# A# A# A#

G# G# G#, A# C# C#

A# G# F# G# A# A# A# F#

G# G# A# G# F#

Here are the words of the song:

“Mary had a little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.”

This is the piano fingering for notes played with the left hand:

3 4 5 4 3 3 3

4 4 4, 3 1 1

3 4 5 4 3 3 3 5

4 4 3 4 5

This is the piano fingering for notes played with the right hand:

3 2 1 2 3 3 3

2 2 2, 3 5 5

3 2 1 2 3 3 3 1

2 2 3 2 1