Notalo › Piano songs with letters › Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace — piano notes with letters
The hymn tune in G major, 3/4 time, starting on a single pick-up note. It uses only the five notes of the pentatonic scale — G A B D E — so there are no half-steps to catch you out.
Traditional (“New Britain”, Southern Harmony), 1835 · G major · 3/4 · public domain · arranged and labeled by Notalo
Hear it. A MIDI file of exactly these notes at 80 BPM — open it in any music app, or slow it down to practice.
Download MIDIAbout the song
John Newton, a former slave-ship captain turned clergyman, wrote the words in 1772 for a sermon in Olney, England. The tune we sing, 'New Britain', was joined to the words in William Walker's 1835 shape-note collection 'Southern Harmony'. The melody is pentatonic — five notes, no half steps — which is why it sounds right on bagpipes, and why it is so easy to play on the black keys alone.
How to play it, phrase by phrase
Start on the pick-up D. 'A-ma-zing grace' is G B G, then B A; 'how sweet the sound' is G E, D D. Bars 6–8 repeat the opening and rise to the high D on 'me'. Bar 9 is the top of the tune, B D B, and bars 10–16 come back down: D B G, B A, G E, D D, G B G, B A, ending on G. Only five different notes appear (D E G A B). Play it slowly — it is a 3/4 hymn, one strong beat per bar.
Letter notes, bar by bar (right hand)
Read left to right; a | is a bar line. Chord symbols are for the left hand or a guitar.
| Bar | Chord | Right-hand letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | |
| 2 | G | G B G |
| 3 | G | B A |
| 4 | C | G E |
| 5 | D | D D |
| 6 | G | G B G |
| 7 | G | B A |
| 8 | D | D |
| 9 | Bm7 | B D B |
| 10 | G | D B G |
| 11 | G | B A |
| 12 | C | G E |
| 13 | D | D D |
| 14 | G | G B G |
| 15 | Bm7 | B A |
| 16 | G | G |
Three things to watch
- No F♯ is ever played in the right hand, even though the key has one.
- Bars 7–8 reach the high D — the top of the tune.
- Hold the long notes for their full two beats; the tune is about breathing.
Have a different version, or a different song? Upload your own sheet music — a photo or PDF — and Notalo writes the letters under every note the same way, plus chords and a MIDI file.
Add letters to my sheet musicMore songs with letters
Jingle Bells · Silent Night · We Wish You a Merry Christmas · Deck the Halls · Happy Birthday · Für Elise · Twinkle Twinkle Little Star · Canon in D · Ode to Joy · Moonlight Sonata (1st movement, easy) · Minuet in G · Greensleeves · Mary Had a Little Lamb · Old MacDonald Had a Farm · Chopsticks · Joy to the World · The First Noel · Auld Lang Syne · O Holy Night · The Twelve Days of Christmas · Ave Maria (Schubert, easy) · Eine kleine Nachtmusik (opening) · God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen · In the Hall of the Mountain King · Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2 (easy) · O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum) · The Star-Spangled Banner · Spring (The Four Seasons, opening) · Wedding March (Mendelssohn) · Hark! The Herald Angels Sing · London Bridge Is Falling Down · Yankee Doodle · Itsy Bitsy Spider · Scarborough Fair · The Blue Danube (waltz theme) · Symphony No. 5 (opening motif) · Prelude in C major, BWV 846 · Morning Mood (Peer Gynt)
New to the staff? Start with how to read sheet music.
Frequently asked questions
Is this sheet music free to print and use?
Yes. Amazing Grace is in the public domain and this arrangement was written and rendered by Notalo. Print it, share it, use it in lessons.
What do the colors mean?
Red letters are the right hand (treble clef), blue letters are the left hand (bass clef), green is the chord for the bar. This is the same output Notalo gives for any sheet music you upload.
Can I get it with Do Re Mi or numbers instead of letters?
Yes — download the image above, upload it to Notalo, and pick solfège (Do Re Mi), German letters, or numbers (1 2 3) as the label style.