Four phrases
The sheet has one line per phrase, and the tune moves between the G below middle C (w) and the G above it (o):
- Phrase one,
ww e w t r - -, climbs from G to C and settles on B (r), held for two beats. - Phrase two,
ww e w y t - -, is the same shape one step higher, ending on middle C. - Phrase three,
ww o u t r e - -, holds the big leap of the song: from low G straight up an octave too, then down through E, C and B to a long A. - Phrase four,
ii u t y t - -, starts on F and winds down to C.
Three phrases begin with the same short pickup, ww; the last begins with its own pair, ii.
Playing it at a party
For the celebration itself, let the piano play the tune while everyone sings, at whichever speed suits the room. To learn it yourself, the octave leap in phrase three is the only real stretch: from w to o is eight white keys. Practise that jump a few times on its own. In phrase three there is traditionally a pause before the last notes, for the name; when you play it yourself, the keyboard waits as long as you like before r e, the two notes that carry the name.
Where the song comes from, and its copyright
The melody is that of Good Morning to All, written by the sisters Mildred and Patty Hill and published in 1893 in their songbook Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Warner/Chappell Music long claimed to own the copyright in Happy Birthday to You. In Marya v. Warner/Chappell Music, Chief Judge George H. King of the US District Court for the Central District of California noted on 22 September 2015 that the copyright in Song Stories, including Good Morning to All, had expired in 1949, and held that Warner/Chappell did not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics (opinion published as 131 F. Supp. 3d 975). No lyrics are used here.
A gentler first tune around middle C is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.