We Gather Together is the Thanksgiving hymn in America, and this easy C major arrangement is built around the interactive player below: hear the gentle 3/4 sway at half speed, watch the notes and keys light up, and drag the score to replay any phrase. 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
Set the player to x0.5 for Section A (upbeat plus measures 1-8): the hymn opens on an upbeat G4, phrase 1 stays low with the thumb on D4 and ends softly on middle C, then phrase 2 climbs G4-A4-B4 to the peak D5 on hastens and rests on a half-note G4. Underneath, the left hand rolls calm broken chords, one note per beat.
Section B (measures 9-16) repeats the climb a little louder, floats back down through a slurred G4-A4 on cease, then phrase 4 dips to middle C for Sing praises, rises once more through F4-G4-A4, and closes on a held C4 under a fermata.
The full score
In the full score, start at 72 BPM lining up only the downbeats of both hands, then fill in the beats: feel a gentle 1-2-3 waltz with no accent on beat 3, and ease toward 96 BPM with a small ritardando into the final fermata.
Note by note: keys and fingering
- Right hand: Three positions linked by the repeated note G4: phrase 1 sits with the thumb (1) on D4 and the ring finger (4) on G4, phrases 2 and 3 climb with the thumb on G4 and the pinky (5) on D5, and phrase 4 settles back around middle C. Replaying a repeated G4 with a new finger glides the hand between them.
- Left hand: Broken chords played one note at a time, almost always pinky (5), middle finger (3), thumb (1): C (C3-E3-G3), G (G2-B2-D3), D minor (D3-F3-A3) and F (F3-A3-C4). The hand shifts once per measure at most.
| Note | On the Staff | On the Keyboard | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | Ledger line below treble staff | Middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| D4 | Just below the bottom line | Right of middle C, between two black keys | RH Thumb (1) |
| E4 | Bottom line of treble staff | Right of the two black keys near middle C | RH Index (2) |
| F4 | First space of treble staff | Left of three black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| G4 | Second line of treble staff | Between first two of three black keys | RH Ring (4) |
| A4 | Second space of treble staff | Between last two of three black keys | RH Pinky (5) |
| B4 | Middle line of treble staff | Right of three black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| C5 | Third space of treble staff | One octave above middle C | RH Ring (4) |
| D5 | Fourth line of treble staff | Right of C5, between two black keys | RH Pinky (5) |
| G2 | Bottom line of bass staff | Two octaves below middle C, between first two of three black keys | LH Pinky (5) |
| B2 | Second line of bass staff | Right of three black keys, below C3 | LH Middle (3) |
| C3 | Second space of bass staff | One octave below middle C | LH Pinky (5) |
| D3 | Third line of bass staff | Between the two black keys below middle C | LH Ring (4) |
| E3 | Third space of bass staff | Right of two black keys, below middle C | LH Middle (3) |
| F3 | Fourth line of bass staff | Left of three black keys, below middle C | LH Middle (3) |
| G3 | Fourth space of bass staff | Between first two of three black keys, below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
| A3 | Top line of bass staff | Between last two of three black keys, below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
| C4 | Ledger line above bass staff | 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 We Gather Together
This is the Thanksgiving hymn in America. It began in 1597 as a Dutch song of gratitude, Wilt heden nu treden, written to give thanks after a hard-won peace. The Viennese conductor Eduard Kremser rediscovered the melody in 1877, and Theodore Baker's English words of 1894 carried it across the Atlantic, where it became woven into American Thanksgiving services; by the early twentieth century no Thanksgiving hymnal was complete without it. Notice how it starts on an upbeat: the word We lifts you into the first full measure, like taking a breath before singing. This arrangement keeps the melody between middle C and D5 over single-note broken chords in the left hand.
Get the printable PDF
The printable PDF of We Gather Together - full score, hand positions, and a step-by-step practice guide - ships inside our free Thanksgiving pack together with fourteen other Thanksgiving pieces.
A waltzing hymn like this is played best from a relaxed, balanced seat, and an Adjustable Piano Bench with Back Support set to your exact height takes the strain out of longer practice.
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FAQ
How hard is We Gather Together on piano?
It is a Level 2 piece in our Thanksgiving collection, the level where the left hand starts to move. The right hand stays between middle C and D5 in three positions linked by the repeated G4, and the left hand plays single-note broken chords, mostly 5-3-1, in C, G, D minor and F.
How long does it take to learn We Gather Together?
Two to three weeks of regular practice. The melody is easy to sing, but the finger substitutions on the repeated G4 in measures 4-5 and 10, and the moving broken-chord bass, need slow hands-together work; line up the downbeats first, then fill in.
What level is We Gather Together?
Level 2 of our Thanksgiving collection. It introduces an upbeat, 3/4 time, position changes made through repeated notes, and a left hand that rolls a different broken chord almost every measure.
What are the notes for We Gather Together?
The melody starts on an upbeat G4, then G4, A4, G4, E4, F4, G4, F4, E4, D4, and cadences E4, C4. The second phrase climbs G4, A4, B4, C5, D5, B4, then A4, G4, A4, G4. The left hand rolls C3-E3-G3, G2-B2-D3, D3-F3-A3 and F3-A3-C4 one note per beat. See the full table above.