Christmas Sheet Music: You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Bah-humbug! This holiday favorite is beloved by piano students of all ages, but it can be difficult to find workable arrangements that are recital-worthy. Let's dive into all the available piano solo and duet versions available for various levels arranged by Jennifer Eklund.

Christmas Sheet Music: You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

🔎 About “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”

“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is a song from the animated television special “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” The song was written by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) and composed by Albert Hague. It was first featured in the 1966 animated adaptation of the famous Dr. Seuss book.

The song is performed by Thurl Ravenscroft, a voice actor best known for providing the voice of Tony the Tiger in Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes commercials. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is a playful and humorous character song that describes the Grinch’s negative qualities in a whimsical and entertaining way. The lyrics playfully list various unflattering descriptions of the Grinch, highlighting his mean-spirited and mischievous nature, while the upbeat and jazzy musical arrangement adds to the song’s charm. The song has become an iconic part of the holiday season and is often associated with the character of the Grinch and the spirit of Christmas.


Let’s dive into Jennifer Eklund’s available arrangements for beginners through intermediates:


1. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” (Beginner Solo with Duet)

This short, two-page arrangement, is a great “first year” solo for students that are motivated and have been in lessons for at least six months. The student part stands alone, but the optional teacher duet adds that little bit of extra sparkle and pizazz!


2. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” (Mixed Level Duet)

This duet arrangement a bit longer at five total pages and suitable for a beginner/late beginner and an intermediate player. If you have siblings or friends in your studio at different levels then this version will be right on the money! The Primo is simple, but more challenging than version 1 above because it requires some position shifts is written as a stacked score.


3. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” (Easy Piano Solo)

This four-page, easy piano solo, arrangement is ideal for highly-motivated late beginners and early intermediates.


4. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” (Early Intermediate Piano Solo)

This four-page arrangement for early intermediates has lots of fund jazz chords and thicker textures that really capture the essence of this tune!


5. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” (Intermediate Piano Solo)

This four-page arrangement is a jazzy dazzler for intermediates!


6. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” (Intermediate Piano Duet)

Last, but not least, a super fun duet version for two intermediates. Note: the Primo is a bit easier than the Secondo part.



👋 Do you have a favorite holiday tune from a movie? We’d love to hear about it!


Jennifer Eklund
Written by Jennifer Eklund
Jennifer Eklund holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music from California State University, Long Beach. She is an avid arranger, composer, and author of the Piano Pronto® method books series as well as a wide variety of supplemental songbooks. She is also a Signature Artist with Musicnotes.com with a large catalog of popular music titles for musicians of all levels.

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