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Play The Man On The Flying Trapeze on your own piano
Plug in your piano by USB or Bluetooth. The song waits for you until you hit the right notes. Slow it down, loop any bars, play one hand at a time.
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- 3Connect your keyboard. By USB or Bluetooth, and play along.
The Man On The Flying Trapeze — Classic Piano Sheet Music
About “The Man On The Flying Trapeze”
Read "The Man On The Flying Trapeze" by George Leybourne in classic piano notation — both hands, real chords + notes, in the published key of G. Engraved server-side from the publisher MusicXML; click any note to jump there as the score follows along at 144 BPM.
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Lyrics
Oh, (G)once I was hap py, but (C)now I’m for (Am)lorn,
(D7)like an old coat that is (G)tat tered and torn.
Wher Left in this wide world to (C)fret and to (Am)mourn, be o (D7)trayed by a maid in her (G)teens.
Oh, the (Em)girl that I loved, she was hand some be
and I tried all I knew her to (B)please,
but (Em)I could not please her one quar ter so well as the (A7)man on the fly ing tra peze.
(D7)Oh!
He’d (G)fly through the air with the (C)great est of (Am)ease, a (D7)dar ing young man on the (G)fly ing tra peze.
His move ments were grace ful, all (C)girls he could (Am)please, and (D7)my love he pur loined a (G)way.
Now, the (G)young man by name was Se (C)ñor Bo ni (Am)Slang,
(D7)tall, big and hand some, as (G)well made as Chang.
Wher e’er he ap peared how the (C)hall loud ly (Am)rang with o (D7)va tions from all peo ple (G)there.
He’d the (Em)smile from the bar on the peo ple be
and I one night he smiled on my (B)love.
She (Em)winked back at him and she shout ed, “Bra vo!” as he (A7)hung by his nose from a bove.
(D7)Oh!
She (G)floats through the air with the (C)great est of (Am)ease; you’d (D7)think her a man on the (G)fly ing tra peze.
She does all the work ful, while (C)he takes his (Am)ease, and (D7)that’s what’s be came of my (G)love.
Her the
Practice tip
Tip: Start at 50% speed to get comfortable with the fingering, then work your way up to full tempo.
Questions about this song (11)
- Is this the same engraved sheet music a piano teacher would print for "The Man On The Flying Trapeze"?
- Yes — the score is rendered server-side from the publisher MusicXML using Verovio (the same engine RISM and OpenScore use). Standard piano notation, treble + bass staves, real chord symbols, key signature G. Print-quality and identical to what you'd see in a printed piano book.
- What key is "The Man On The Flying Trapeze" by George Leybourne played in?
- The Man On The Flying Trapeze is arranged in the key of G on Super Simple Piano. You can transpose to any other key live in the player.
- What's the tempo (BPM) of "The Man On The Flying Trapeze"?
- The arrangement plays at 144 BPM. Use the speed control (10-200%) to practice slower or play faster.
- Is "The Man On The Flying Trapeze" easy to play on piano?
- Yes — this is one of our beginner-friendly arrangements with simplified chords and color-coded notes.
- Can I download sheet music for "The Man On The Flying Trapeze"?
- Yes — registered users can download PDF sheet music, plus MIDI and MusicXML files for use in other notation software.
- Who composed "The Man On The Flying Trapeze"?
- "The Man On The Flying Trapeze" was originally performed by George Leybourne. The Super Simple Piano arrangement is simplified for beginner-to-intermediate players.
- Is this the same notation a piano teacher would hand me?
- Yes — "The Man On The Flying Trapeze" is rendered at engraver quality (the Verovio engine, the same toolkit RISM and OpenScore editions use) from the original publisher MusicXML. You get standard piano notation: treble + bass clefs, key signature G, time signature, beams, dynamics — everything a printed sheet music book would have. Great for piano students learning to read music properly.
- What's the difference between Sheet Music and the other modes here?
- Sheet Music is the "classic" view — the one your piano teacher uses. Other modes (Beginner, Fall Down, Simple Sheet, Lead Sheet) trade real notation for color-coded notes and falling shapes to help absolute beginners. Use Sheet Music once you're ready to read both hands at once from real notation.
- Can I practice from this view at my own pace?
- Yes — slow the tempo from 144 BPM down (or up) without changing the pitch. The score scrolls in time and the currently playing note is highlighted, so you can drill a tough bar at half speed and bump it up once it feels comfortable.
- Why can I click a note in the score?
- Every notehead is interactive. Click and the audio jumps to that moment so you can drill a specific phrase or bar instead of replaying from the top. The currently playing note is highlighted as the music advances so your eye never loses its place.
- Can I download the sheet music as a PDF?
- Yes — Sheet Music PDF is one of the download formats for this song. The engraved score prints page-perfect on A4 / Letter so you can practice from paper as well as on screen.
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