Piano chords · Old-time stride
Be-Bop: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By John "Dizzy" Gillespie
- F minor
- 4/4
- 160 BPM
- 1944
- Easy
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 Be-Bop without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride), and the right hand sings the tune.
Be-Bop accompaniment in letter notes
The C7 – Fm – Gdim – Fm loop with stride jumps in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Be-Bop
What are the letter notes for the Be-Bop 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 C7 – Fm – Gdim – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Be-Bop?
The loop is C7 – Fm – Gdim – Fm (V7 – i – iio – i) in F minor, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Fm.
What key is Be-Bop in?
F minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Be-Bop?
Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Be-Bop 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.