Free Keyboard Music
Brian Boru's March
Free keyboard music Brian Boru's March, now with 3 early beginner arrangements as well as a fancy version!
This is a piece of Irish sheet music, very beautiful, and instantly likeable. First, let's have a look at an elementary arrangement in Dm:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
A very simple left hand - but still tricky for Level 1 and even Level 2 piano students. The repeating notes of the melody and of the left hand will make this achievable.
Lovely mood music
I first heard this music played on the flute, used as a procession during the Shakespeare play "Midsummer Night's Dream," and the melody's whimsicality, melancholy, and feeling of forward progression suited well the slow advance of the leotard-wearing, ivy-bedecked players across the stage. A very pretty scene.
Loreena McKennitt's exciting version
A lead sheet arrangement
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Just 3 chords... but repeated again & again
In some of my lead sheets, the chord symbols serve a double function: they indicate not just the correct chord (or bass note), but also where, rhythmically, the chord should be struck.
That's why the "Dm - Dm - Dm - Dm" appears again and again, which is not the usual practice of lead sheets.
Double-time notes for rhythmically challenged pianists
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
For some students, the dotted rhythms either must be taught by rote, or changed into doubled notes. Many find it much easier to count "1-2-3" than "one-and-two.... and!"
Don't worry, they won't be stuck there forever.
The beautiful arrangement
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Left hand block chords in the beginning of the piece, and the same chords, long and broken, in the second half of the piece, make this Irish printable sheet music easy to memorize.
Lots more music
Here we see the full extent of the melody - the three easy arrangements above only contain the first 8 measures.
Just when the ear has become satiated with the drumbeat of the left hand dotted quarter notes, the accompaniment breaks away into a thrusting broken chord pattern, and the melody executes an octave leap at the end of its repeating motif, charging the music with excitement.
The fingering requires some thought
Starting in measure 11, I suggest a RH fingering which my students usually fight, initially. However, this fingering enables them to learn this part much faster and with less scrambling around, if they will just TRY IT.
It involves simply an ordinary five-finger scale position, but with the thumb stretched left as if for a chord inversion during the broken C chord of the left hand.
I tell them, "Put your fingers on an Am root-position chord. Now, stretch your thumb to the left." It seems to be easier for them to see it this way, as if it is really an Am chord, just stretched for a moment.
Help them "see" the chords in the melody
Then, the thumb stays stretched as the chord changes to a G, while the "2" and "4" fingers form the body of the G chord in the RH. Finger 5 just "hangs out."
Finally, it all comes together when the chord really does change to Am. The RH thumb retracts to "A," and the RH chord is fingered with 1, 3, and 5 on the chord tones. This may seem obvious to your students, but mine tend to fight using 1, 2, and 4 on the G chord.
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Can your student play an octave yet?
Page two of Brian Boru's March cannot be played well until a student's right hand can stretch and reach an octave (preferably with the eyes closed).
They must also be adept at playing left hand broken chords that cross over, and coordinate with the right hand.
Start with just Part 1
Like Harp Ballad, this free keyboard music Brian Boru's March is one of those pieces I sometimes teach in two stages...
Page 1 is quite easy, except for the note-reading and fingering in part B, and parts A and B can make a satisfying piece without the second page, in my opinion, as long as you return to part A to finish it off.
But the excitement of the second half of the piece is usually enough to get students motivated to work at the left hand/right hand coordination, really pushing themselves, and coming out on a new level!
So who was Brian Boru? Brian Boru was the last king of Ireland.
I know your students will enjoy this free keyboard music!
The links for the printable piano sheet music:
Download late elementary arrangement of Brian Boru's March
Download lead sheet arrangement of the Irish melody
Download double-time arrangement of Brian Boru
Download free keyboard music Brian Boru's March
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!
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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.
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