Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen)

Michael Praetorius · Level 3 (Late beginner) · traditional · Piano

A 16th-century German Christmas carol, famous in Michael Praetorius’s 1609 setting; the broad, syncopated tune is sung with rubato. An easy arrangement in F major: the right hand plays the tune, the left hand alternates a bass note and a two-note chord (“oom-pah”).

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Work in four-bar phrases, hands separately then together. Keep the left hand softer than the tune: let the right hand sing. Watch the syncopations (notes tied across the beat): count the quarter notes carefully.

Source : Arrangement Note after Note d’après la mélodie publiée par M. Praetorius (1609) · Public Domain