Kids Piano Sheet Music
Winds in the Willow

Kids piano sheet music "Winds in the Willow" is a free beginners piece that uses a D minor pentascale pattern to suggest movement. You could call it a thinly-disguised scale practice, but it is too pretty to believe that its only purpose is for an exercise! 

It's just scales?  A cinch!

Yes, but... Control and coordination are necessary for success in this little song.

The LH doesn't stop moving

The left hand moves constantly, requiring evenness and control. Though this is pretty easy piano sheet music, matching right hand to left hand scale in the first two lines is a good early step in hand coordination. 

Download kids piano sheet music "Winds in the Willow" 

What about the finger numbers?

No fingering in this song! Therefore, your students must be able to read the notes.  Or figure them out.  The "Daddy" note "D", as I like to call the D above Middle C (it is Daddy holding up the "ladder" or staff on top of his head, he is so strong) is the first RH (right hand) note.  Count up by lines and spaces to find the next note, "A".  As for the LH (left hand), figure out the bottom note "D" by its proximity to "F", the "fish" note (second line from the top - draw a tail on it and tell your students it is trying to swim between the bubbles or dots).

Try to make it expressive - let your student help decide

Depending on where on the keyboard your student plays, the mood of this simple piano song can be gentle and melancholy, or loud and stormy. Because I have not put dynamic markings in this piece, it can be very changeable! Up high, the music can sound very delicate; down low, heavy and strong.

Hold an audience in the palm of your hand...

Show your student how to slow way down at the end, even greatly exaggerating the ritard that often signals an ending, so that they hold their listeners spellbound with just a few quiet notes.

What are the winds?

This music has nothing to do with Kenneth Graham's "The Wind in the Willows," but like that wonderful story, has an intriguing name with a hint of a mysterious promise... See if your student is interested in coming up with some words for the tune.  Halloween or misty fall weather might be an inspiration, for some.

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Cat:
Thank you so much for these resources - I have a small music studio in Johannesburg, South Africa. My kids love playing these tunes.

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Thanks for providing such a comprehensive music  teaching program with all the relevant tools.  It will make it easy to introduce my 8 g-children and others to music.  You are truly a blessing.

Thank you for your comments [regarding teaching a student with autism] they were helpful and encouraging to me. Your current comments are right on par with the abilities of the student I have now, though mine is a bit younger. Though not a savant, after teaching him the C scale last year, he came back the next week and asked if he started on any key could he do the same thing...which he did starting on every (white) key with correct sharps (and flat) his fingering wasn't correct but not too far off.

Venugopal, India:
A few months ago I wrote to you about my problem to play with both hands on the piano. You encouraged me not to lose heart and keep practicing. I kept up my practice and now I am comfortable with using both hands. Thanks to your kind words, I am enjoying my piano every day.

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I was wondering if it was at all possible to gain permission from you to use some of the pieces of music on this website for my students performing at an Eisteddod in Australia? I have found this website most helpful to my teaching and the students seem to enjoy this music. Would you mind if they played some of these pieces in a public setting?
Dana:
Hi, Dannielle, Absolutely you may use my pieces in public! Thanks for asking (but no need). Best wishes for a fun performance.

Matt:
THIS SITE IS AMAZING!!... Thank you so much for your hard work getting these on the web, you have made many children very happy!!

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I am a public school music teacher. May I download your scale sheets for piano?
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By all means, Frank! On some of my free sheets, I have written "For Use by Private Music Teachers" down by the Copyright notice, but I really intend them to be for the use of all teachers and students alike.

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Thank you, Thank you, Thank you....I have a lot of books on graded pieces but not a lot of beginner pieces. I use material I have written myself together with books I encourage my parents to buy... but sometimes parents just can't afford a book- and as a teacher you sometimes do find your self searching for material....Thank you thank you thank you once again!

Darla:
Thank you for sharing the free downloads of piano music for piano students.  I use your site frequently.  My son has decided that the Keegan's Waltz arrangement you have is the best song ever written for piano.

Joy: I bought your Halloween Songs, wrote teacher accompaniment for some, and performed with 17 of my students in costume at an assisted living facility. It was a "win-win" situation. The kids and residents loved it and the parents were very pleased with the service aspect of their children's performance as well. Thank you for sharing these lovely pieces that introduce the minor key in a very simple and interesting way to early elementary students. 

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