- Notes17, 3 pitches
- RangeC4–E4
- Key hereC major
- Tempo100 bpm · about 10 s
- LevelEasy
Can a piano play Hot Cross Buns?
Yes — every size on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.
- 49 keys✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 · load it
- 61 keys✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 · loaded above
- 88 keys✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E4 · load it
Hot Cross Buns: piano letter notes
The large line is the key’s letter; a dot over it is the octave above middle C’s, a dot under it the octave below; the small line under it is the same note in do-re-mi. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.
Hot Cross Buns — piano letter notes (61 keys) · tonalics.com
Hot Cross Buns letter notes as text
The same notes as plain text, one phrase to a line, to copy into a message or a document. A letter on its own is in the octave that starts on middle C (C4). Every note of this tune is in it. A comma marks a long note.
E, D, C, E, D, C C C C C D D D D E, D, C
Is there a both-hands version?
Not of Hot Cross Buns, on this page. The left hand here is made by rule — three chords, one hand position — and it is only offered where that rule can be checked against a published harmonisation and agrees with it on most bars. This melody has no barred score in its sources to hang the chords on. The right hand above is the whole tune.
The 3 notes it uses
Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 3 and you can play the whole tune.
- CDo×7
- DRe×7
- EMi×3
What to expect on a piano
- It runs from C4 to E4, a major third, using 3 different notes. That leaves 24 semitones unused below and 32 above.
- 94% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, C4 to E4, at note 4.
- It is played on the white keys only.
- It covers 3 neighbouring white keys, so the right hand never moves: thumb on C4, one finger to a key.
About the tune
Hot Cross Buns began as a street cry: the call of London bakers selling spiced buns on Good Friday. It was in print as a rhyme by the end of the 18th century, and the tune it settled on is about as small as a tune can be — three neighbouring notes, most of it a single falling step repeated.
Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. Public domain. More about Hot Cross Buns →
Hot Cross Buns on other instruments
The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation.
- Hot Cross Buns — kalimba
- Hot Cross Buns — mbira
- Hot Cross Buns — guzheng
- Hot Cross Buns — handpan
- Hot Cross Buns — oud
- Hot Cross Buns — violin
- Hot Cross Buns — cello
- Hot Cross Buns — erhu
- Hot Cross Buns — dulcimer
- Hot Cross Buns — xylophone
- Hot Cross Buns — marimba
- Hot Cross Buns — glockenspiel
- Hot Cross Buns — steel drum
- Hot Cross Buns — ocarina
- Hot Cross Buns — harmonica
- Hot Cross Buns — trumpet
- Hot Cross Buns — clarinet
- Hot Cross Buns — saxophone
- Hot Cross Buns — flute
- Hot Cross Buns — recorder
- Hot Cross Buns — tuba
- Hot Cross Buns — euphonium
- Hot Cross Buns — trombone
- Hot Cross Buns — accordion
- Hot Cross Buns — harp
- Hot Cross Buns — lyre
More songs for the piano
- Lightly Row
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- London Bridge
- Old MacDonald
- Frère Jacques
- Going Home (New World Largo)
All 36 piano songs · Christmas songs for piano · The online piano on its own