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The Blue Danube (waltz theme) — piano notes with letters
The first waltz theme of An der schönen blauen Donau in D major, two sharps. The rising D–F♯–A, the held A, and the two high answering notes that everyone knows. Twelve bars, one chord per bar.
Johann Strauss II, 1866 · D major · 3/4 · public domain · arranged and labeled by Notalo
Hear it. A MIDI file of exactly these notes at 150 BPM — open it in any music app, or slow it down to practice.
Download MIDIAbout the song
Strauss wrote the waltz in 1866 for the Vienna Men's Choral Society, with a comic text, and it was a lukewarm success until it was played as an orchestral piece at the Paris World's Fair the next year. It has since become Austria's unofficial anthem, the traditional New Year's Day encore of the Vienna Philharmonic, and — thanks to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey — the sound of a space station turning. The full waltz is a chain of five waltzes; this is the first.
How to play it, phrase by phrase
Bar 1 rises D F♯ A, and bar 2 holds the A. Bar 3 answers with two high A's, bar 4 with two high F♯'s. Bars 5 and 6 repeat the rise and the held A; this time the answer is two high A's and then two high G's, over the left hand's A major chord. Bars 9 to 12 rise once more and settle on a long D. Play the three-note rise smoothly, hold the long notes for their full value, and drop the two high notes in lightly, like the echo they are.
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 | D F♯ A |
| 2 | D | A |
| 3 | D | A A |
| 4 | D | F♯ F♯ |
| 5 | D | D F♯ A |
| 6 | D | A |
| 7 | A | A A |
| 8 | A7 | G G |
| 9 | D | D F♯ A |
| 10 | D | A |
| 11 | D | A A |
| 12 | D | D |
Three things to watch
- Waltz time: a strong first beat, two light ones. Count “ONE two three”.
- The high pairs in bars 3–4 and 7–8 jump up an octave and more — keep the wrist loose and aim for the A and F♯ above the staff.
- F♯ and C♯ are the two black keys; C♯ only appears in the left hand's A major chords.
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.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this sheet music free to print and use?
Yes. The Blue Danube (waltz theme) 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.