Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Back Door Santa: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Marcus Lewis Daniel & Clarence George Carter

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1968
  • Easy
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Left hand Pop heartbeatThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

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 Back Door Santa without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)), and the right hand sings the tune.

Back Door Santa accompaniment in letter notes

The F7 – Eb – Bb – F7 loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 2
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 3
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 4
F7
RF4+A4+C5 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 5
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 6
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 7
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 8
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LF2 F2 F2

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.

Questions about Back Door Santa

What are the letter notes for the Back Door Santa 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 F7 – Eb – Bb – F7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Back Door Santa?

The loop is F7 – Eb – Bb – F7 (I7 – bVII – IV – I7) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Back Door Santa in?

F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Back Door Santa?

Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Back Door Santa 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.