Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Big Yellow Taxi: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Joni Mitchell

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 1970
  • Medium
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Left hand Rock’n’roll rockerRight hand Running-late chordsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 Big Yellow Taxi without reading music. The left hand plays rock’n’roll rocker (rock’n’roll 5–6 shuffle) and the right hand running-late chords.

The main tune of Big Yellow Taxi in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RA4+C5 A4+C5 A4+C5 A4 F4+Bb4
LF2 F2 F2 F2
Bar 2
F
RA4 A4+C5 F4 F4
LF2 F2 F2 F2
Bar 3
Gm7 → F
RD4+F4+Bb4 A4 D4+G4 F4 Bb3+D4
LF2 F2 F2 F2
Bar 4
F
RD4 F4 A3 F4
LF2 F2 F2 F2

Big Yellow Taxi accompaniment in letter notes

The F – F – Gm7 – F – F loop with rock’n’roll rocker in the left hand and running-late chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RC5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 2
F
RC5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 3
Gm7 → F
RD5+F5+G5+Bb5 D5+F5+G5+Bb5 D5+F5+G5+Bb5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LG2+D3 G2+E3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 4
F
RC5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 Ab4 A4 C5 D5 C5 A4 Ab4 F4
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 5
F
RC5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 6
F
RC5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 7
Gm7 → F
RD5+F5+G5+Bb5 D5+F5+G5+Bb5 D5+F5+G5+Bb5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LG2+D3 G2+E3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 8
F
RC5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5 C5+Eb5+F5+A5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3

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 Yellow Taxi

What are the letter notes for the Big Yellow Taxi 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 F – F – Gm7 – F – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Big Yellow Taxi?

The loop is F – F – Gm7 – F – F (I – ii7 – I – ii7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Big Yellow Taxi in?

F major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Big Yellow Taxi?

Rock’n’roll rocker: rock’n’roll 5–6 shuffle, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Big Yellow Taxi easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Big Yellow Taxi?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.