Free easy piano · Classical
Swan Lake theme, easy piano
The swan theme from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake in four free piano versions: a beginner version in E minor, a version in B minor with a single-note left hand, an easy version in B minor with two-note chords, and an intermediate version closer to the ballet. Play each one here, slow it down or loop a bar, then print the PDF or download the MIDI.
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Beginner to intermediate
- 25 bars · 4/4
- Free: play, print, MIDI
Versions of Swan Lake Theme. Each version is a request typed into PlayableNotes. Pick one to hear and print it.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make a beginner version in E minor, one sharp. Keep the melody on the treble staff, nothing below middle C, nothing faster than eighth notes, and give the left hand only single notes and open fifths in half and whole notes.”
What changed
The complete melody in E minor, almost all on the staff, over a left hand that plays one note or one open fifth at a time.
- Moved from B minor to E minor (one sharp, F-sharp). The theme starts on the B in the middle of the staff and sits under the hand from E up to B.
- Bars 8 to 17: the middle phrase is in the oboe's octave, as in the ballet (the source edition prints it an octave lower). In E minor that keeps it on the staff, from F-sharp up to the top-line F-sharp, and it leads back into the theme without a jump. The only ledger-line note in the right hand is middle C, in bars 3, 7, 20 and 24.
- Right hand: every note and rhythm of the melody. Bar 16 has F-naturals and bar 17 a C-sharp, where B minor had C-naturals and a G-sharp; the first F-sharp in bar 17 is printed as a reminder.
- Left hand under the theme: the open fifth E–B, held for half a bar or a whole bar on the key note, where Tchaikovsky's bass stays on his key note. It moves to A for the second half of bars 1 and 18, as his chords do, and to C for the second half of bars 3, 5 and 7 (and 20, 22 and 24), where his chromatic chords are simplified to that one note. Bars 6 and 23 hold a low B for the whole bar, and bars 7 and 24 begin on that B, under his dominant seventh chord, before moving to the C.
- Bars 9 to 17: single bass notes and one open fifth, in half and whole notes, on Tchaikovsky's bass line: D–C, the fifth B–F-sharp, A–G, F-sharp–B, then D–C, B–F-sharp, A–G an octave higher, F-natural–D-sharp, C-sharp–B. In bar 12 the bass stays on B through the last beat, where the orchestra moves to the tonic chord; the melody's E makes that resolution.
- Nothing in the left hand is shorter than a half note, and it never stretches wider than a fifth.
For teachers: The theme stays in one place: thumb on E, reaching down to middle C once in bars 3 and 7. The middle phrase moves: thumb on F-sharp for bar 9, on B for bars 10 and 11, back down so the fifth finger lands on B for the falling eighths in bar 12; the same again in bars 13 to 15; then on A for bar 16 and back to B for bar 17. Practice those moves slowly, right hand alone, before putting hands together.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Keep the easy version in B minor with the same right hand, but give the left hand single notes only: one bass note at a time, in half and whole notes except where the bass line moves, following the same bass line.”
What changed
The easy version's right hand over a left hand of single bass notes, still in Tchaikovsky's key.
- Right hand: the same as the easy version, the melody note for note in B minor, with the same courtesy C-sharp at the start of bar 17.
- Left hand: one note at a time, the bass of the easy version without the note above it, and without the passing A in bars 5 and 22: 53 single notes where the easy version plays 61 two-note chords.
- Under the theme: a held B for most bars, E in the second half of bars 1 and 18, and the chromatic bass in quarter notes where it moves: B, G-sharp, G in bars 3 and 5; F-sharp, A-sharp, B in bar 6; A-sharp, B, G-sharp, G in bar 7 (and the same in bars 20 to 24).
- Bars 9 to 17: half and whole notes on the bass line A, G, F-sharp, E, D, C-sharp and E, D, C-natural, A-sharp, G-sharp, F-sharp, except bar 12, where two quarter notes, A-sharp and B, rise under the falling run.
- The left hand stays between the F-sharp just below the bass staff and the E in its third space: no ledger lines.
For teachers: For a student who reads B minor in the right hand but loses the beat when the left hand has chords. Play the left hand alone first and say the note names: the sharps on G and A are the bass line's half steps. When it is secure, move on to the easy version, which adds one note above each of these.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make the Swan Lake theme easy for my second-year student. Keep it in B minor with every note of the melody, and give the left hand simple two-note chords that follow Tchaikovsky's harmony, nothing wider than an octave.”
What changed
The whole melody in Tchaikovsky's key, over a left hand of held two-note chords that keeps his harmony and his moving bass lines.
- Right hand: the melody of the source edition, note for note. The middle phrase, from the last note of bar 8 to bar 17, stays an octave below the oboe, as the source prints it, so it reads mostly on the staff; the hand drops to the B below middle C at the end of bar 8 and jumps back up to F-sharp for the return in bar 18.
- Left hand under the theme: mostly the open fifth B–F-sharp, the pedal note the orchestra holds, changing to E–G in the second half of bars 1 and 18 for Tchaikovsky's E minor color.
- Bars 3, 5 and 7 (and 20, 22 and 24): the chromatic chords in the second half of the bar, under the falling D–B–G–D in bars 3 and 7 and under the rising B–C-sharp–D–E in bar 5, are kept as G-sharp–F-natural, then G–E. In bar 5 the bass walks down B, A, G-sharp, G, as in the ballet.
- Bars 6 and 7 (and 23 and 24): the F-sharp seventh chord is played as A-sharp–E, and its E falls to D on the B minor chord that follows, as Tchaikovsky's bass falls E, D in bar 6. The bass of the left hand rises A-sharp to B there, while his steps down.
- Bars 9 to 17: one to three two-note chords per bar on Tchaikovsky's bass line, A, G, F-sharp, E, D, C-sharp, A-sharp, B, and later E, D, C, A-sharp, G-sharp, F-sharp. In bar 12 the F-sharp seventh chord has A-sharp in the bass, so the bass rises to B while the melody falls, and the E above it falls to D. Bar 16 keeps the C major chord and the A-sharp under it.
- Courtesy sharps: the first C-sharp in bar 17, after the C-naturals of bar 16, and the F-sharps in the left hand after each bar with an F-natural.
- Dynamics added: soft for the theme, a little louder for the middle phrase, loud for the return in bar 18, as in the ballet. The last bar holds a B–F-sharp under the melody's B.
For teachers: For a student who reads two sharps and keeps eighth notes even. Learn bar 3 right hand alone first: F-sharp, B, D, B, G, D falls under fingers 5, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, a G–B–D–F-sharp hand shape. Then practice the two jumps, down an octave at the end of bar 8 and back up from bar 17 into bar 18, moving during the note before. The E-sharp in the left hand in bars 12 and 17 is the white key F.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make an intermediate version that sounds closer to the ballet: harp-like broken chords under the theme, the middle phrase back up in the oboe's octave over plucked bass notes, and a loud return with repeated chords for the string tremolo.”
What changed
Broken chords like the harp, the middle phrase in the oboe's octave over plucked basses, and a loud return over repeated chords like the string tremolo.
- Bars 1 to 8: the left hand plays broken chords in eighth notes, like the harp, each group within an octave. In bars 5 to 7 it follows Tchaikovsky's falling bass: B, A, G-sharp, G, F-sharp, E, D, C-sharp, B, G-sharp, G.
- Bars 8 to 17: the melody goes back up to the oboe's octave, an octave above the source edition, up to C-sharp two ledger lines above the staff. The left hand plays a low bass note on beats 1 and 3 and a three-note chord on beats 2 and 4, like the plucked basses and the strings. Courtesy sharps in both hands in bar 17, after the C-naturals of bar 16.
- Bars 18 to 24, the loud return: the right hand adds a note under the long F-sharps (D in bars 18, 20, 22 and 24, B in bars 19 and 23). The left hand plays repeated eighth-note chords for the strings' tremolo, mostly over B in the bass, with the theme's chord changes, except that bar 23 and the first half of bar 24 stay on B minor, so the added notes sit inside the chord.
- Bar 25: a full B minor chord, D–F-sharp–B in the right hand over a low B octave.
- Left-hand leaps of up to a tenth in bars 9 to 17; no chord wider than an octave in either hand.
For teachers: For a student at about grade 3 or 4. Practice the left hand of bars 9 to 17 alone until the jumps from bass note to chord are sure without looking; then the repeated chords of bars 18 to 24, keeping the wrist loose and the chords quiet enough that the melody sings over them.
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Make your own version
A real request in PlayableNotes, on Für Elise from the free library: say who it’s for and what to keep, and the AI writes a new version beside the original. It shows how to ask for a version of your own; its result is not one of the versions on this page.
About Swan Lake Theme
Swan Lake, Op. 20, the first of Tchaikovsky's three ballets, was written in 1875 and 1876 and first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1877. Its best-known music is the swan theme: the oboe melody in B minor that closes Act I and opens Act II, the lakeside scene, played over tremolo strings and harp arpeggios. The versions here are the theme as most people know it: the eight-bar melody, the rising middle phrase twice, then the melody again, 25 bars in all.
The tune itself is not hard. What trips students up is the key of B minor and the dotted rhythms in bars 2 and 6. Then the middle phrase climbs a step at a time and falls in a run of eighth notes, and in bar 16 the C turns natural for a C major chord (the Neapolitan chord; bar 17's dominant then brings the theme back). In the ballet the accompaniment is tremolo strings and harp, not a part a pianist can copy, so each version gives the left hand something simpler that follows his harmony and bass line.
The source is a melody-only edition, so the left-hand parts were written for this page and checked chord by chord against two arrangements of Tchaikovsky's orchestral score. The final held B in bar 25 ends the excerpt; in the ballet the music carries straight on.
Practice tips
- Count the dotted rhythm in bars 2 and 6 out loud: the long notes fall on beats 1 and 3, and each short note comes on the "and" just before the next beat.
- Hold the tied note in bar 4 (B, or E in the E minor version) for its full two and a half beats. It is where the theme breathes; keep counting through it and don't rush the three eighth notes after it.
- Bars 9 to 12 climb a step at a time and then fall in one run of eighth notes. Loop bar 12 on its own until the run is even, then loop bars 11 and 12 (click bar 11, then bar 12).
- Bar 16 is the surprise: in B minor the C is natural (F-natural in the E minor version), and bar 17 brings back the sharps. Mark both bars before the first run-through.
- Learn it at about 60 with the tempo slider, hands separately with the Right and Left buttons, then work up toward 76 to 84, a flowing Moderato.
Questions about Swan Lake Theme
Which part of Swan Lake is the famous theme?
It is usually called the swan theme: the oboe melody that opens Act II (No. 10, Scène), set by the lake where the swans appear. The same theme closes Act I and comes back later in the ballet. The versions on this page are that theme: its eight-bar melody, the rising middle phrase and the melody again.
Is the Swan Lake theme hard to play on piano?
The melody is not: it moves by step and small leaps, with dotted rhythms and eighth notes. The harder parts are reading B minor, the run of eighth notes in bar 12 and the chromatic chords. The beginner version in E minor keeps the whole tune with a left hand of single notes and open fifths; the intermediate version adds the ballet's textures.
What key is the Swan Lake theme in?
B minor, with two sharps (F-sharp and C-sharp), the key Tchaikovsky wrote it in. The easy, easier-left-hand and intermediate versions here keep B minor. The beginner version is in E minor, with one sharp, so the melody sits on the staff.
How fast should the Swan Lake theme be played?
Tchaikovsky marks the scene Moderato, a moderate pace; around 76 to 84 quarter notes per minute sounds flowing without hurrying. Learn it nearer 60 and use the tempo slider on this page to step up as it settles.
Can I download the Swan Lake theme as a PDF or MIDI file?
Yes, free and without an account. Every version has a Letter-size PDF to print and a MIDI file with the right and left hands on separate tracks.
Is Swan Lake in the public domain?
Yes. Tchaikovsky died in 1893, and his music is in the public domain. The melody on this page comes from a public-domain edition, and the arrangements are free to play and print.
Source and credits
- Composer
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- License
- Public Domain Mark 1.0
- Arranger
- PlayableNotes
The melody was checked bar by bar against two CC0 arrangements in PDMX that follow the orchestral score (6298718, for piano three hands; 5969235, for concert band). One wrong note was corrected: the last eighth of bar 16 is C-natural, not C-sharp. The source prints the middle phrase, from the last note of bar 8 to bar 17, an octave below Tchaikovsky's oboe; the easy and easier-left-hand versions keep that, and the beginner and intermediate versions put the phrase back in the oboe's octave. Bar 25, a held B, is the source edition's ending for the excerpt. The uploader's chord symbols were not used.
The full edition is also in the library: Swan Lake Theme, ready to play and edit.
Arrangements and facts checked
