Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

A Sleepin' Bee: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Barbra Streisand

  • Eb major
  • 2/2
  • 80 BPM
  • 1954
  • Easy
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Left hand Velvet jazzThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

The accompaniment with every note named, bar by bar: the bar sheet shows each note as a bar on the staff with its letter inside, so you can accompany A Sleepin' Bee without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)), and the right hand sings the tune.

A Sleepin' Bee accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb7 – Eb – Fm – Gm loop with velvet jazz in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb3+Ab4 Bb3+D4 Bb2
Bar 2
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb3+Db4 Eb3+G3 Eb2
Bar 3
Fm
RF4+Ab4+C5
LF3+Eb4 F3+Ab3 F2
Bar 4
Gm
RG4+Bb4+D5 A4 Bb4 D5 E5 D5 Bb4 Bb4 G4
LG3+F4 G3+Bb3 G2
Bar 5
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb3+Ab4 Bb3+D4 Bb2
Bar 6
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb3+Db4 Eb3+G3 Eb2
Bar 7
Fm
RF4+Ab4+C5
LF3+Eb4 F3+Ab3 F2
Bar 8
Gm
RG4+Bb4+D5
LG3+F4 G3+Bb3 G2

How to read the bar sheet

The player above shows the treble staff (right hand) over the bass staff (left hand). Every note is a bar as long as it sounds, at its place on the staff, with its name inside, and the music scrolls past a line that marks now. The chord names run along the top.

Start with the left hand alone at a slow speed, then the right, then both. When the letters feel easy, try the sheet music.

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Questions about A Sleepin' Bee

What are the letter notes for the A Sleepin' Bee piano accompaniment?

Bar by bar, both hands: the bar sheet on this page names every note of the accompaniment (C4 is middle C) and plays along. The loop is Bb7 – Eb – Fm – Gm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in A Sleepin' Bee?

The loop is Bb7 – Eb – Fm – Gm (V7 – I – ii – iii) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is A Sleepin' Bee in?

Eb major, at about 80 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in A Sleepin' Bee?

Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is A Sleepin' Bee easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.