Cancan by Jacques Offenbach

Cancan by Jacques Offenbach is one of the most famous melodies ever written.

I created a very simple piano arrangement that is perfect for the beginning piano student.

With this post I included instructional videos and the sheet music which you can download for free.

What you will learn:

  • How to play the song
  • Cut Time
  • C Major Scale
  • Interpreting basic Chord Symbols
  • Creating a two-beat left-hand accompaniment from chord symbols

Download the sheet music (pdf with two pages)

Watch the video

Spoiler Alert

I am in the process of creating part two to this video in which I will explain how I created the left hand accompaniment from only the chord symbols!

Definition of Cut Time

Cut Time (in classical music referred to as alla breve) is a 4/4 time Cut Time2
signature “cut”in half to create a two beat feel by putting strong emphasize on the first and fourth quater note in the bar.

It is usually used in very fast tempi for the purpose of creating a more relaxed two-beat feel. Cut time can be written as 2/2, or as a c-shaped symbol with a vertical slash (see image).

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