Greensleeves is the great Elizabethan melody of love and loss, and the interactive player below is where to start: hear it at half speed, watch the notes and keys light up as it plays, and drag the score back to any phrase. The sheet music, full fingering, and a free printable PDF follow.
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 at x0.5 on the player: after the A4 pickup the verse arches C5-D5, E5-F5-E5, D5-B4 - the one moment the pinky reaches F5 - then dips through G4 and G sharp 4 at the phrase ends.
Section B is the alas my love refrain: it repeats the verse shape and closes through B4 and G sharp 4 onto a long A4. Watch the left hand, which shifts down to G2 with the pinky in the third measure of each phrase.
The full score
In the full score, feel the 3/4 as one lilting pulse per measure and let each dotted-half bass note ring through its bar like a plucked lute string.
Note by note: keys and fingering
- Right hand: Two mini-positions. The verse starts from the thumb (1) on the A4 pickup, with C5 (3) and D5 (4); at the peak the hand stretches so E5 takes the ring finger (4) and F5 the pinky (5). At phrase ends the thumb shifts down to G4, G#4, or E4, putting A4 under 2 and B4 under 3.
- Left hand: One single note per measure, dotted half notes: ring (4) on A2, index (2) on C3, pinky (5) after a shift down to G2, thumb (1) on E3.
| Note | On the Staff | On the Keyboard | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | Second space of treble staff | White key between the last two of three black keys | RH Thumb (1) |
| B4 | Third line of treble staff | White key right of the three black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| C5 | Third space of treble staff | White key left of the two black keys above middle C | RH Middle (3) |
| D5 | Fourth line of treble staff | White key between the two black keys above C5 | RH Ring (4) |
| E5 | Fourth space of treble staff | White key right of the two black keys above C5 | RH Ring (4) |
| F5 | Fifth line of treble staff | White key left of the three black keys above C5 | RH Pinky (5) |
| G4 | Second line of treble staff | White key between the first two of three black keys | RH Thumb (1) |
| G#4 | Second line of treble staff, with a sharp sign | Black key right of G4 | RH Thumb (1) |
| E4 | First line of treble staff | White key right of the two black keys above middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| A2 | First space of bass staff | White key between the last two of three black keys, two octaves down | LH Ring (4) |
| C3 | Second space of bass staff | White key left of the two black keys below middle C | LH Index (2) |
| G2 | First line of bass staff | White key between the first two of three black keys, two octaves down | LH Pinky (5) |
| E3 | Third space of bass staff | White key right of 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 Greensleeves
Greensleeves is an English ballad first registered in London in 1580, and legend has long claimed, without evidence, that Henry VIII wrote it for Anne Boleyn. The melody is older in spirit than most folk tunes: it follows a romanesca bass pattern popular in the 16th century, which gives it that bittersweet minor pull. Shakespeare mentioned the song twice in The Merry Wives of Windsor, proof it was already a hit by the 1590s. The same melody later became the Christmas carol What Child Is This in 1865. This arrangement sets it in A minor with one bass note per measure.
Get the printable PDF
The printable PDF of this easy Greensleeves - full score, hand positions, and a step-by-step practice guide - ships inside our free Halloween pack together with fourteen other spooky pieces.
Position shifts are far easier when your forearms sit level with the keys, and an Adjustable Piano Bench with Back Support lets you set that height exactly.
FAQ
How hard is Greensleeves on piano?
This arrangement sits in Level 2 of our Halloween collection. The melody needs two small hand positions, one stretch up to F5, and the black key G sharp 4, but the left hand plays only one dotted half note per measure, so the coordination stays gentle.
How long does it take to learn Greensleeves?
Plan on two to three weeks at this level. The verse and refrain share most of their material, so the real work is the handful of position shifts - the thumb moving between A4, G4, and E4 - which smooth out quickly with slow practice.
What level is Greensleeves?
Level 2 of our Halloween collection. It moves beyond single-position playing: the right hand shifts along the keyboard, the pinky stretches to F5 at the peak, and the left hand walks between A2, C3, G2, and E3, one note per measure.
What are the notes for Greensleeves?
After the A4 pickup the verse runs C5, D5, E5, F5, E5, D5, B4, then G4, A4, B4, C5, A4, and closes A4, G sharp 4, A4, B4, G sharp 4, E4. The refrain repeats the arch and ends on a long A4. The left hand plays A2, C3, G2, and E3, one per measure. See the table above.