Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Big Boss Man: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Al Smith & Luther Dixon

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Velvet jazzRight hand Steady chordsChords 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 Big Boss Man without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand steady chords.

Big Boss Man accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Eb7 – Eb – Eb7 loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 2
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 3
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 4
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 Gb5 G5 Bb5 C6 Bb5 G5 Gb5 Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 5
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 6
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 7
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 8
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3

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 Big Boss Man

What are the letter notes for the Big Boss Man 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 Eb – Eb7 – Eb – Eb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Big Boss Man?

The loop is Eb – Eb7 – Eb – Eb7 (I – I7 – I – I7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is Big Boss Man in?

Eb major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Big Boss Man?

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 Big Boss Man 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.