O Mio Babbino Caro for Vocalists

Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" is surely one of the loveliest opera arias of all time. It is also fairly easy to sing, except for the octave leaps, which give the song such excitement. Take advantage of the free opera sheet music I offer here with four different piano accompaniments and in four different keys, to suit young voices.

Go to YouTube and check out the enormous offerings there of this beautiful song. This piece enjoys star status, even with non-classical singers. I guarantee your students will fall in love with it, especially if you show them the aria sung by a beautiful and glamorous opera singer. My favorite video is sung by Anna Netrebko, who puts her whole self into the aria, looking like nothing so much as the most gorgeous Barbie Doll come-to-life. Even a non-operatic singer such as Hayley Westenra can demonstrate some of the beauties of this aria.





Free opera sheet music O Mio Babbino in Ab

Free vocal sheet music in the key of G

Free opera sheet music in the key of F

And O Mio Babbino in the key of Eb, for beginning singers

Originally written in the key of Ab, I also offer it here in G, F, and Eb. The song is much more accessible for young girls in the lower keys.

My simple melody-with-chord-symbols lead sheet is all I use, even at performances, and for most singers, it won't be necessary to see the piano part. The standard arrangement, let's not fool ourselves -- the standard arrangement is a handful, with its long harp-like broken chords and filled right hand octaves. But the difficulty of the accompaniment is not my primary objection to using it with young singers. It can be heavy with some pianists, and on some pianos! You don't want accompanists all tangled up in a thicket of ponderous chords and big leaps, when they should have their eyes on the vocalist!

The voice is the thing here, not the piano, so stay out of the way! If you really want to play the regular accompaniment, many books of Italian favorites and opera music include it. (And I will put it up here in the next few months, as well.) For now, accept my offering of the following free vocal sheet music arrangements, in four levels of difficulty, and in three keys. Here they are, from simplest to most elaborate:





Simplest accompaniment in Ab

The same arrangement in the key of G

In the key of F


The next version has some right hand chords. These are most beautiful if lightly rolled like a glissando, however, I did not mark them glissando.





Version 2 of piano accompaniment in Ab

In the key of G

And in the key of F, as shown above


The third accompaniment version doubles the speed of the left hand chords. They can be a stretch for some hands, and careful, planned fingering is necessary to make it work, unless playing chords like these are second nature to you.





Free printable accompaniment in Ab

Free opera sheet music n the key of G

And key of F!


My 4th version of O Mio Babbino Caro, shown below, combines the full-sounding right hand with the faster-moving left hand.





My most difficult arrangement , in the original key of Ab

Free vocal sheet music n the Key of G, as pictured above

And printable sheet music in the key of F

O Mio Babbino Caro is a fun way to encounter Italian for the first time...I like to go over the meaning of each word so my students know what they're saying. Look up Gianni Schicchi if you don't know the story -- it's actually a comedy with a happy ending, in spite of poor Lauretta singing to her "dear Daddy" that she wants to die!

If you don't know how to pronounce Italian, for goodness' sake, get yourself some books or an Italian course! Listen to Italians singing Italian. You need to be able to sing Italian well for the sake of your students. (In older times, vocal teachers wanted more than just good pronunciation; they recommended personally translating each word of a foreign language song.)

This aria is a good workout for phrasing and breathing. You will probably need to write all over the music to remind your student or yourself where to breathe. On the long note, "Di-o," work with them to swell or crescendo, to put expression in.

If you want a copy of the standard arrangement of O Mio Babbino for piano accompaniment, keep checking back, or subscribe to The Music Notes Blog, my RSS feed (see the top left of this page), to learn when new pages are added to Music for Music Teachers.

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