Pat-a-Pan, or Willie Take Your Little Drum
Pat-a-Pan has an engaging rhythm and a beautiful minor melody.
Three versions of "Willie, Take Your Little Drum":
- one difficult,
- one fairly easy, and
- one (bottom of the page) for beginners!
Please scroll down the page for the links to the free printable PDFs.
Four verses of Christmas song lyrics translated from the French original lyrics are included with this free Christmas song...
"Willie Take Your Little Drum" or "Pat-a-Pan" is unfamiliar to a lot of kids, so you may have to run this one by them a couple of times before they will really "hear" it. This lively, free Christmas sheet music certainly has a different flavor than most of the Christmas songs they know... but it is catchy and beautiful.
Hear the Cantamus Training choir singing an arrangement of this lovely Christmas music:
Here is the free Christmas sheet music for the more difficult arrangement of Pat-a-Pan, with a driving left hand rhythm.
It is the rhythm that mainly makes coordinating the hands together difficult. This arrangement is based on an old one by Ruth Heller, but the right hand is simplified a bit so it flows more easily.
I have NOT put fingering in; I do have an unchanging fingering that I prefer, but your students will probably find their own fingering for this song no matter what I put in here.
Experiment with the phrases, trying different fingering; pencil it in, then encourage them to see how that works for them over the course of the week. They are more apt to try fingering if they had a contributing part in choosing it.
This easier version of Pat-a-Pan, below, doesn't have the driving left hand rhythm of the more difficult version above, but it preserves the beautiful harmonies, and includes all the Christmas song lyrics.
Below is a very simple arrangement, a Middle C version for beginners. It works for a duet Primo, and you can use the left hand chord pattern of Version 1 (the hard version, above) for a Secondo! (Just be sure to take the melody part up an octave or two.)
I left the rhythm of the notes in this beginner's version the same as above in the elementary and intermediate piano arrangements above.
Sure, there are eighth notes in the fast parts, but don't worry about that.
Instead of turning this song into a chore by imposing "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" , not suitable for beginners, you and your students can count it my favorite way for 8th notes:
TAH TAH / TAH TAH TAH TAH / TAH, tee-tee TAH TAH /
TAH-2, TAH-2, / TAH-2, TAH TAH / TAH TAH TAH TAH /
TAH-2, tee-tee-tee-tee / TAH-2, tee-tee-tee-tee / TAH-2, etc.,
with the bold "TAH"s being the first beat of each measure.
Probably most of you do some form of this already!
Kids catch on very quickly that eighth notes move faster.
Mrs. Behnke's flute choir:
The links to the piano music:
Download Pat-a-Pan free Christmas sheet music, intermediate level
Download Pat-a-Pan with Christmas song lyrics, elementary level piano
Download Willie Take Your Little Drum for beginning piano
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
Recent Articles
-
Viva la Musica Song - a Round in Three Parts
Viva la musica is a very old round for singing. Find it here for treble and bass voices and for guitar.
-
Ode to Joy Free Kids' Sheet Music for Piano, Beginner to Advanced
Ode to Joy, now with advanced "BIG"-sounding arrangements, piano duets, and multiple beginner and late beginner arrangements.
-
Zum Gali Gali Lyrics and Sheet Music
Zum Gali Gali lyrics and easy sheet music for piano, voice, guitar, and lead instruments.
-
Classical Guitar Sheet Music "Allegro" by Giuliani
Classical guitar sheet music from "Le Papillon" (The Butterfly) by Giuliani, now with guitar tablature - this classical piece is very EASY!
-
Happy Birthday Free Sheet Music for Guitar, Piano, & Lead Instruments
Happy Birthday, now with GUITAR TABS! Several arrangements for piano solo & duet, some with a few lettered notes to help! Multiple keys.
-
Spanish Study Free Guitar Tabs for Beginning Classical Guitar
Spanish Study, with a new version showing all 3 pages of tablature. This is a simplified guitar version of the famous piece "Asturias."
-
Star-Spangled Banner Free Sheet Music & Lyrics for All Instruments
Star-Spangled Banner free sheet music. Now with a singer's "find-your-pitch" exercise! America's national anthem in 7 keys, & lyrics for 1 or all 4 verses.
-
Tarantelle, the Spider Dance, for Beginning Piano
Tarantelle, now with a shortened melody, and in Dm position! The Spider Dance is a vigorous and fun melody for beginning piano students.
Carrie,Voice and Piano Teacher:
This site is FABULOUS. For all the reasons you explain on the site itself--this is exactly what piano teachers need! (I still need to go look at the vocal music). Wow. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
California Student:
Hi, I want to thank you for such a wonderful and educational website. I have found all the information you have posted and your comments immensely helpful, and I am grateful for your posting it. I am sure you are an awesome teacher and person. I am a beginner piano student, so many thanks and Happy New Year.
Sign up for "Take Note!" to see what's new every month.
Search Music-for-Music-Teachers:
Comments
Do you have a funny story about this music, or does it remind you of something you'd like to share with other readers? Do you have a question? I'd love to hear it!
Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...
Comments
Have your say... Leave me a comment in the box below.