Free Classical Sheet Music
Egyptian Dance
Free classical sheet music, Egyptian Dance, arranged for elementary and beginner piano... now with a LEAD SHEET arrangement!
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Except for the expanded chords in lines 1 and 5, it truly is a lead sheet.
Egyptian Dance, from the Bacchanale of "Samson and Delilah" by Saint-Saens, has a beautiful eastern-sounding melody. It is likely quite different from the music your student usually plays - but if they've watched "The Mummy" or other movies set in desert countries, they have heard this evocative kind of sound.
Em? or E?
So the chord in this lead sheet isn't truly "Em..." The chord "E" would be more accurate, but my students only use an open chord when playing this piece anyway (see the full arrangements below).
How often to strike the chord?
Ordinarily, a lead sheet places the chord symbol over the appropriate measure, then no more chords are shown until it's time for a different chord. Here, for beginner students, I've placed the left hand chord symbol each time the hand strikes. I have found this works very well with piano students who are just venturing into lead sheets!
Take a look at a "helper" version. This arrangement also has larger note heads, and some of them also have note names inside:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Now add energy in the left hand:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
A mysterious sound, from the Orient
One of the things that make this free classical sheet music so mesmerizing is the lowered 2nd step of the scale that first occurs in measure 7.
After playing a bit of the melody for my piano student, I then play the pentatonic scale E-F-G#-A-B up and back down, lingering for a moment on the F before resolving onto the E again. That is almost a "shiver" moment!
So much mystery is hinted at in this suggestive melody, that some students will almost catch their breath, eyes wide, as you play it for them.
A version without AlphaNotes
Here is the same music, but without the "helper" notes, and with a smaller size staff:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Don't believe me about the "shiver" moment?
Try it - there is something about that neither-major-nor-minor collection of notes that evokes faraway, mysterious lands... camel caravans, and desert sands.
Engage students' imaginations
Being carried off into the imagination is one of the reasons young kids desire to start music lessons in the first place!
So... having begun with easy open 5ths on page 1, the LH (left hand) then breaks away into a 5-1-5-1 pattern on page 2, which gives an exciting feeling of movement and urgency to the repeated melody.
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
The biggest difficulty in this piece
Measures 9-12 seem problematical for some students... the timing throws them off. I've found it's no good pressing on to page 2 until the rhythm of page 1 is thoroughly mastered.
Use conducting gestures along with the power of your voice to HOLD or move the rhythm along; whatever it takes to make the rhythm feel natural to your student.
The first measure of line 2 always baffles students as well: What is finger FOUR doing there? Lots of drawing of note names, and circling of finger numbers ensues. That's why I finally made the HELPER version of this song with a few lettered notes.
Help students add mystery
Though I haven't put any expression markings in this classical sheet music, there's lots of room for nuance and passion! The pedal can add a mysterious flavor, but is easy to overdo when the LH is moving every beat.
I hope you and your elementary level students enjoy Saint-Saens' Egyptian Dance!
The pdf links for the piano music:
Download lead sheet pdf of Saint-Saens music
Download Egyptian Dance with helper notes
Download free classical sheet music Egyptian Dance
Check out more easy free piano songs with a reach of just 6 or 7 notes:
Egyptian Dance - not as hard as it sounds! Very mysterious & beautiful.
I'm a Pirate - a good song for imaginative young kids! Several settings.
Indian Dance - one of the most popular & accessible songs for beginners here
Irish Wedding (easy version) - all my students want to play this high-energy song!
Kum Ba Yah - very pretty and easy - just 6 notes.
Lavender's Blue - young girls love this music, especially if they have seen Lily James' Cinderella!
Winds in the Willow - scale practice disguised as a mysterious, pretty minor melody.
Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!
Recent Articles
-
Angels We Have Heard on High - Free Christmas Songs Arrangements
Angels We Have Heard on High: children love the fancy "Gloria" chorus, and you can download multiple arrangements for piano, violin, & guitar! -
Gospel Song Jesus Loves Me: Beginner & Easy Piano, Plus Lead Sheets!
Gospel song "Jesus Loves Me" is well-known to many children. Here are easy arrangements to learn the music & each word to Jesus Loves Me, for early piano. -
Easy Piano Sheet Music Swan Lake -Beginners & Intermediate Pianists!
Easy piano sheet music Swan Lake, lovely solos & duets, with lyrics in the beginner arrangements for dreamy students who love imagining. New arrangements! -
The Wellerman Sheet Music: Easy Piano & Lead Sheets!
The Wellerman: Tabs, sheet music & lyrics for piano, guitar, & more! Such a fun, high-energy song to sing & play - learn it fast with letters in the notes! -
Christmas Carol Lyrics Song from the Bible: Free SATB and Guitar Tab
Christmas carol lyrics from the Bible and an old-fashioned carol-like tune combine in this free Christmas song for SATB choir or a solo vocalist with guitar.
Interested in songs from the Bible for your students or church? Check out my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com!
All the first-year material I give my beginner students.
Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!
This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.
This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!
This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
Comments: Do you have a story or a question about music teaching? Share it!
Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...
About the Author
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.
Recent Articles
-
Angels We Have Heard on High - Free Christmas Songs Arrangements
Angels We Have Heard on High: children love the fancy "Gloria" chorus, and you can download multiple arrangements for piano, violin, & guitar! -
Gospel Song Jesus Loves Me: Beginner & Easy Piano, Plus Lead Sheets!
Gospel song "Jesus Loves Me" is well-known to many children. Here are easy arrangements to learn the music & each word to Jesus Loves Me, for early piano.