Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday is in 3/4 and starts on a pick-up, 'hap-py', before the first strong beat. It needs two hand positions: G position for the first two lines, then one move with the octave leap in the third.

Play it in Octotune

The opening, as the app engraves it: G4, G4, A4, G4, C5

The melody in letters

Measure by measure, as the app’s melody version has it; the small numbers are the fingers.

Measure 1G₁G₁
Measure 2A₂G₁C₄
Measure 3B₃G₁G₁
Measure 4A₂G₁D₅
Measure 5C₄G₁G₁
Measure 6G₅E₄C₂
Measure 7B₁A₁F₅F₅
Measure 8E₄C₂D₃
Measure 9C₂

At a glance

Composer	Mildred J. Hill (1859–1916)
Difficulty	Starter pieces: grades 1–2 of 8
Key	C major (no sharps or flats)
Time	3/4
Tempo	100 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower)
Length	9 measures, about 16 seconds
Hands	one hand or both, by version
Right hand	G4 to G5
Left hand	C3 to G3
On the path	Unit 8, Outward, Kids, Way up and way down

Versions in the app

Version	Grade	Levels
Happy Birthday to You — melody	1 of 8	Full
Happy Birthday to You — with bass	2 of 8	Melody, Full

Practice notes

Happy Birthday starts on a pick-up: "hap-py" comes before the first strong beat, "birth-". Count "3" silently, play the two short Gs, and land on A on "1". The song is in 3/4: count 1 2 3.

In Octotune's version it starts on the G above middle C, so it sits on the treble staff:

G G A G C B (happy birthday to you)
G G A G D C (happy birthday to you)
G G high-G E C B A (happy birthday dear ...)
F F E C D C (happy birthday to you)

Hand positions. The first two lines sit in G position: thumb on G, fingers on A, B, C, D. The third line leaps up an octave, more than a hand can hold, so the hand moves once, with the leap, to sit with the thumb on B. From there the little finger reaches up to the high G and the thumb stretches down to A for "dear...". The last line stays there.

The tricky part is that leap: G up to the G an octave higher. Practice the move on its own: play the two short Gs, lift the whole hand, and land finger 5 on high G.

Practice plan. Learn lines one and two in Wait for me. Then line three, slowly, hand move included. Then the whole song with Play along.

In the path: Unit 8 for grown-ups, which introduces high G, and the Kids unit Way up, way down.

Questions

What are the piano notes for Happy Birthday?

G G A G C B; G G A G D C; G G G(high) E C B A; F F E C D C. In Octotune's version the first G is the one above middle C.

What is the hardest part of Happy Birthday on piano?

The leap up an octave in the third line, 'happy birth-day dear...', from G to the G above. The hand has to move for it.

Credits and license

Music: Mildred J. Hill (1859–1916)
Arranged for Octotune

The Octotune team · Updated September 23, 2026