Piano Music for Beginners
Dueling C's

Piano music for beginners, free!

"Dueling C's" has the thumbs competing for Middle C in a short, fun, and very easy song. The right and left thumbs engage in a conversation that quickly becomes an argument, then resolves when both thumbs end on Middle C. 

Is Middle C the same key for each note?

Students sometimes think there are different Middle C's for each hand!

I have found that most young kids need A LOT of reminding that "Middle C" is the same place on the piano for both hands.

Sometimes they'll do just fine until they finish their Primer Method book, then once their hands are no longer customarily playing in that Middle C "position," they want to play Left Hand Middle C down an octave, so their hands maintain a space between!

Don't be afraid of LOTS of review

For little guys, it can take lots of reminders, flashcard activities, games, and songs like "Dueling C's" to make Middle C solid.

A conversation between the thumbs

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

The hardest part of starting a song

Finding the starting notes is the hardest part of playing a song for many beginners

Frequently when students begin a song around Middle C, they'll hunt visually then settle the hands an octave apart!  Even if we have searched the music for "clues" and determined that one or both hands use Middle C, they may set their hands onto different Cs.

As they hunt for their notes, little hints that help

So I may have a running dialogue with them...

"Okay -- C is our starting note... looking for Middle C... there are LOTS of C's on the piano... Hmmm... which one is MIDDLE C?" and that always helps them focus on finding the correct C.  

Usually I point to the piano brand name invariably located just above the Middle C area of the fallboard above the piano keys.

I hope your students have fun with this free piano sheet music for kids! 

The link for the piano music:

Download piano music for beginners "Dueling C's" 

More songs especially for new beginners:

ABC & CDE - Two little 3-note songs focused on the Middle C area, one for left hand and one for right

Black Keys songs - songs set to lyrics and poems, all on black keys!

C&B  & C&D - Left hand, then right hand, each play little songs with lyrics that make them fool-proof.

Dipping Donuts - an easy-to-read song with repeated notes requiring a gentle dipping motion of the wrist and fingers.

Dueling C's - a short song with 3 notes: B, Middle C, & D.  The thumbs of each hand are "fighting" for the Middle C - but the music makes it plain which hand really owns it.

Fuzzy Wuzzy - this song is about a bear that WASN'T fuzzy.  Quarter rests form part of the action! One-handed & two-handed arrangements.

Go Tell Aunt Rhody - the words might seem a bit gloomy, but this is a pretty tune that is old and famous.

God Is So Good - a sweet song with just five notes.

Greensleeves (What Child is This) - this sheet music is really just an accompaniment for the beautiful Christmas song: broken chords played in repeated sets, almost like an exercise, but very lovely.  And DO-ABLE!

Indian Dance - Though it sounds powerful (and even difficult with an added repetitive chord in left hand), it is very intuitive and repetitious, easily conquered in several lessons.

Jingle Bells - Is there a child who doesn't know this happy tune?  Its repeated notes make up for the "tricky" skips in the melody - plus there are lettered notes in some of the arrangements!

Lavender's Blue - this pretty song forms part of the drama of Cinderella's rescue by the prince in the newest Cinderella movie with Lily James...  little girls love to play this song!

Mary Had a Little Lamb on the white keys - even adults benefit from having this tune "in hand" - later they will learn much about using chords from simple little songs like this.

Monsters Everywhere - this is a very easy Halloween song that moves carefully in steps.

Music Alphabet Song - from A,B, & C in the left hand, through C, D, E, F, & G in the right hand, this song travels scale-wise through all the notes, to help a logical thinker conquer this concept.

Ode to Joy - like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Jingle Bells, this melody is well-known, and starts with finger 3 on E.

Peck! Peck! Peck! - a "shared-hands" melody, this cute song about chickens pecking on the ground to find their breakfast only moves by steps.

Pizza Please - Using just 3 notes, this song for left hand or right hand is actually Hot Cross Buns in disguise.

Sharks - Wait until kids have started working on the bass clef before you give them this dramatic 3-note song.

Snakes - the next step after students have conquered Wormies, this more intricate set of exercises is longer, with smaller note heads, but still moving just one step at a time in either direction

Snakes Go for a Walk (also called "Crickets Go Hopping") - More exercises like Wormies and Snakes, but with "skips" hiding amongst the steps in each line.  Line 1 has one hidden skip; line 2 has 2 hidden skips - you get the idea!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - this song is so familiar that children will conquer it easily, especially because it moves by repeated steps.  Excellent for memorizing and transposing.

When the Saints Go Marching In - just 5 notes, with no stretches or replacements, make up this familiar song!

Wormies - This little set of exercises asks beginners to choose ANY white key, and then decide whether to move up, down, or stay there, by looking at the next note.  EASY.

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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Bidur:
Thanks a lot for building such a nice site where people can easily find and free download sheet music for beginners. I am going to start teaching piano to kids.

I was just searching for some basic interesting songs for my pupil. Here, I found a wonderful site where I spent more than 3 hours and downloaded some music. Thanks again for making my day easier.

Elania:
THANK YOU! This website is a God-send! :D I took piano lessons as a kid, a little music theory, and now I'm a homeschooling mom hoping to pass on anything I can to my kids about music. It is such a gift, for so many reasons!

I have been slowly giving my oldest daughter whatever my memory can dredge up, scouring the internet for free music she can do, but your website with its instructions AND tips on how to teach pieces are going to help me SO much in this endeavor. I just wanted to tell you thank you. Really really! THANK YOU!

About the Author

Dana Thynes

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.