Music library › Folk songs and rounds
traditional Scottish, 1788 (words by Robert Burns). Excerpt, written out for reading practice.
Robert Burns sent his version of this old Scottish song to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788; the melody most of the world sings at New Year was matched to his words a few years later. “Auld lang syne” means “old long since”: days gone by.
The melody is written in F major (one flat). It is built from a pentatonic, five-note scale, so there is no B♭ in this phrase at all, and it uses the dotted quarter and eighth rhythm throughout.
Read the piece through once without playing, naming the starting note and looking for patterns and repeats. Then press Play and follow the notes as they light up. When you are ready, choose Practice this piece: it opens in the practice tool, where you can slow it down, play along on the on-screen piano, a MIDI keyboard or your voice, and have every note checked.