Hava Nagila

Traditionnel (mélodie hassidique) · Level 3 (Late beginner) · traditional · Piano

A Jewish celebration song: a Hasidic melody from Ukraine, notated and adapted by Abraham Zvi Idelsohn in Jerusalem in 1918. “Let us rejoice”. The E mode with G sharp (the “freygish” scale), then a refrain that speeds up. An easy arrangement in A minor: the right hand plays the tune, the left hand only plays the bass of each chord, one held note at a time.

▶ 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.

Source : Arrangement Note after Note d’après la mélodie traditionnelle (Idelsohn, 1918) · Public Domain