Lesson 11:
The Water Is Wide in C, F, and G

The Water Is Wide is a good tune for stretching your fingers just a bit past the “five finger” position. Also, it provides the opportunity for a thumb under move and a couple of crossing over the thumb moves.

Instructions for learning a piece on the piano:

-play each line with right hand (fingerings written above note names) until it is easy and/or memorized.

-play each line with left hand (fingerings written below note names) until it is easy and/or memorized.

-play each line with both hands until it is easy and/or memorized.

-string the lines together until you can play the whole piece. Keep it slow until you are comfortable and familiar with it. Then, start playing it faster, working up to an appropriate tempo for that piece.

-Regardless of tempo, relax your arms & shoulders and keep it smooth and flowing.

[The tunes listed in the "free piano lessons" portion of this website provide a fun way for beginners to begin getting to know their way around the piano keyboard. By learning a bunch of simple tunes and learning to play them hands-separately and hands-together, as well as in at least 3 different keys, a new piano player not only learns the layout of the notes, but also begins to develop knowledge and confidence in piano fingerings. Along the way, you are working on the ability to learn and memorize melodies on the keys. Add a bit of work with a metronome and you begin developing a sense for steady rhythm, as well as the ability to work with an extremely valuable tool. Together, these elements will become part of a solid foundation of basic skills needed for more advanced piano playing in the future.]

Video Tutorial

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Music Notation

Click here for the music.

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The Water Is Wide in key of C (sing along to establish proper rhythm):

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"Water" in key of F (sing along to establish proper rhythm):

[note: B-flat is the black note to the left (a half-step down) of B.]

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"Water" in key of G (sing along to establish proper rhythm):

[note: F-Sharp is the black note to the right (a half-step up) of F.]

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Other verses:

There is a ship sailing on the sea,

She’s loaded deep, as deep can be,

But not as deep as in love I am,

I care not if I sink or swim.

I leaned my back up against an oak,

I thought it was a trusty tree,

But first it swayed, and then it broke,

So did my love prove false to me.

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More Information on "The Water Is Wide"

For more about this tune, click here.

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return from "The Water Is Wide" to "Free Piano Lessons"