Printable Piano Music for Sea ShantyWhat Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor
This free printable piano music might be your student's favorite for a long time! The surging energy created by the LH of this easy piano sheet music keeps it driving till the very end.
What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor is a sea shanty: a sailors' song sung to the rhythm of their working. (Also known as shantey, chantey, or chanty.) Like most songs of folk origin, you'll find many variants of it. This version is the one I know.
On page 2, the RH crosses over the LH down to the bass clef -- I hope that's clear enough in the music. The LH stays just where it was, but appears temporarily in the top staff. Then at the last repetition, the hands must fly apart quickly asRH goes right again, and LH drops deep into the bass. Now here is an even easier version of Drunken Sailor:
Remember what I said about the energy driving this piece? Once the hand coordination is developed in this sea shanty, your students will be flying along... and the pounding might become a bit of an issue for their parents! (Then it will be time to talk about refinement and musicality, if you haven't already.) This song is VERY fun. Here is a most beautiful rendition of Drunken Sailor:
Return to Beginner Piano for more printable piano music
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