Turkey in the Straw is the dessert of our Thanksgiving collection, a barn-dance tune just for fun, and the interactive player below is the fastest way in: hear it at half speed, watch the keys light up, and drag the score to replay any lick. The sheet music, fingering for both hands, and a free printable PDF come next.
Learn it with the interactive player
- Slow it down: x0.5 or x0.75 while you learn the notes, back to x1 once they flow.
- Pause anywhere: the current keys stay lit so you can find them on your own piano.
- Drag the score left or right, or use the 15s buttons, to replay a phrase.
The sheet music, section by section
Take Section A (measures 1-8), the verse, at x0.5: two quick pickup eighths E4-D4 tumble into the tune, which circles middle C with its cheeky lower neighbor B3, scampers up E4-F4-G4-A4 and struts back down. Measures 3-4 are the strutting answer, and measure 7 is the one small fiddle lick, E4-G4-A4-G4-E4-C4-D4, kept exactly in reach.
Section B (measures 9-16) is the hook everyone knows, Turkey in the straw, haw haw haw: short-long eighth-quarter kicks bounce between E4 and G4, jump up to F4 and A4, ring two proud C5s at the top of measure 13, and the fiddle lick brings it home to C4.
The full score
In the full score, start hands together at 80 BPM with the left hand as the square-dance caller keeping strict time, accent beat 1 lightly, make the chorus kicks really bounce, and work up to 120 BPM, fast enough to dance to.
Note by note: keys and fingering
- Right hand: Verse: fingers gathered around middle C, with the thumb (1) pivoting between B3, C4 and E4 as the tune scampers up to G4 and back. Chorus: an open country-dance frame with the thumb on E4, the middle finger (3) on G4, the ring finger (4) on A4 and the pinky (5) stretching to C5.
- Left hand: Classic boom-chick: thumb (1) on C3, ring finger (4) on G2, bouncing like a banjo. The F chord drops the pinky (5) to F2 with the middle finger (3) on A2, and cadences walk G2-B2-C3 by step with 4-2-1.
| Note | On the Staff | On the Keyboard | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| B3 | Below the ledger line under the staff | White key left of middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| C4 | Ledger line below treble staff | Middle C | RH Index (2) |
| D4 | Just below the bottom line | Right of middle C, between two black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| E4 | Bottom line of treble staff | Right of the two black keys near middle C | RH Ring (4) |
| F4 | First space of treble staff | Left of three black keys | RH Index (2) |
| G4 | Second line of treble staff | Between first two of three black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| A4 | Second space of treble staff | Between last two of three black keys | RH Ring (4) |
| C5 | Third space of treble staff | One octave above middle C | RH Pinky (5) |
| F2 | Below the bottom line of bass staff | Two octaves below middle C, left of three black keys | LH Pinky (5) |
| G2 | Bottom line of bass staff | Two octaves below middle C, between first two of three black keys | LH Ring (4) |
| A2 | Bottom space of bass staff | Two octaves below middle C, after three black keys | LH Middle (3) |
| B2 | Second line of bass staff | Right of three black keys, below C3 | LH Index (2) |
| C3 | Second space of bass staff | One octave below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
| D3 | Third line of bass staff | Between the two black keys below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
Prefer a video? Watch the keys light up
Same color code as the player: green marks the right hand, blue the left hand, with the score and keyboard in one vertical video.
The story behind Turkey in the Straw
America's most famous barn-dance tune has been played at harvest frolics since the early 1800s, when fiddlers spun it out of older British and Irish reels by way of a Mississippi boatman's tune called Natchez Under the Hill. Generations have square-danced to it, whistled it behind plows, and heard it jingle from ice cream trucks. In a Thanksgiving songbook it is the dessert: after the hymns, a tune purely for fun. This arrangement tames the fiddle runs into a beginner-friendly version, with a couple of low turns raised an octave so the right hand stays in one region, but the strut of the melody and the Turkey in the straw chorus are unmistakably intact over a boom-chick bass.
Get the printable PDF
The printable PDF of Turkey in the Straw - full score, hand positions, and a step-by-step practice guide - ships inside our free Thanksgiving pack together with fourteen other Thanksgiving pieces.
A tune this quick rewards a seat where your forearms are level and your shoulders stay down, which is precisely what an Adjustable Piano Bench with Back Support is for.
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FAQ
How hard is Turkey in the Straw on piano?
It is a Level 2 piece in our Thanksgiving collection, and the liveliest one. The right hand stays between B3 and C5 in two frames, one around middle C for the verse and an open frame with the thumb on E4 for the chorus, and the left hand plays a boom-chick bass in one position from F2 to D3.
How long does it take to learn Turkey in the Straw?
Two to three weeks. The notes are all in reach and the bass repeats one pattern, but the eighth-note runs and the fiddle lick in measures 7 and 15 need slow, sassy repetition before the tune will hold together at 120 BPM.
What level is Turkey in the Straw?
Level 2 of our Thanksgiving collection. It introduces a bouncing root-fifth bass, quick pickup eighths, a thumb that pivots between B3, C4 and E4, and a stretch of the pinky to C5 in the chorus.
What are the notes for Turkey in the Straw?
The verse starts with the pickup E4, D4, then C4, B3, C4, D4, C4, E4, F4, G4, A4, G4, E4, G4, C4, D4, and the answer E4, E4, E4, D4, C4, D4, E4, D4, D4. The chorus kicks E4-G4, E4-G4, G4, then F4-A4, F4-A4, A4, and rings C5, C5, G4, G4. The left hand bounces C3 and G2 with F2-A2 for the F chord. See the full table above.