Mit siebzehn hat man noch Träume - Sheet Music for Piano and Voice Peggy March

"Mit siebzehn hat man noch Träume" is one of the most beloved German Schlager songs of the 1960s. This piano and vocal score makes it accessible to players with at least three years of lessons under their belt. The position shifts in the left hand and the intervallic leaps in the vocal line demand a level of coordinative confidence that only develops with some playing experience.

Sheet Music "Mit siebzehn hat man noch Träume" – Nostalgic Schlager for Piano & Voice

Peggy March performed this piece as part of the Deutsche Schlagerfestspiele 1965 — a television show that shaped the Schlager scene in Germany at the time. The American singer was already internationally renowned by then, having topped the US charts in 1963 with "I Will Follow Him" before establishing herself in the German-speaking market as well. The song, written by Heinz Korn and Peggy March herself, revolves around the lightness and hope of being young: dreams that still reach toward the sky, before the years reveal how some of them slip away. This tension between optimism and disillusionment gives the song its distinctive character — romantic and reflective in equal measure.

The piece is written in E-flat major and follows strictly diatonic harmony throughout — every note stays firmly within the key, with no harmonic detours. This gives the accompaniment a clear, flowing quality. The Beguine rhythm underlying the original requires a steady, even pulse in the piano accompaniment — characteristic of this style is the syncopated interplay between bass and chord, which the left hand must maintain cleanly and effortlessly at 112 BPM. A common beginner mistake: the left hand loses its evenness precisely when the right hand enters — the bass accent slips onto the wrong beat, and the rocking feel of the Beguine collapses entirely. Practising the left hand alone first, counting aloud throughout, quickly builds the physical sense of the rhythm before the right hand takes over the melody. The vocal line spans nearly an octave and a half, reaching into the upper middle register — where the voice needs support, meaning actively engaged breath management, to keep those notes from wavering. The intermediate difficulty rating stems primarily from the left-hand position shifts: the accompaniment regularly changes position while the right hand simultaneously carries the melody.

• Vocal Range: B♭ to E♭'' (1.5 octaves)
• Main Challenge: Left-hand position shifts between bass notes and chordal accompaniment

Singing through the vocal line confidently without piano accompaniment first will quickly reveal where the larger intervallic leaps occur — allowing you to build breath support precisely where the line ascends. The left hand benefits from internalising the position shifts as a movement sequence in their own right: if you can hit the changes cleanly with your eyes closed, you have already done half the coordination work. The piece briefly modulates to G minor — having that shift in your ear means navigating the passage without hesitation.

A short audio preview is available before purchase, so you can get a feel for the character of the piece before you buy. The sheet music is available for immediate download after purchase. 100% licensed — ready to play legally, right away.

Editorially reviewed by the notendownload.com team