Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Bossa beach

Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man): easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Billie Holiday

  • Ab major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1956
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Bossa swayRight hand Soft chordsChords 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 Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man) without reading music. The left hand plays bossa sway (root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&)) and the right hand soft chords.

Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man) accompaniment in letter notes

The D7 – Db7 – Eb7 – Ab loop with bossa sway in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D7
RA4+C5+D5+F#5 A4+C5+D5+F#5 A4+C5+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 2
Db7
RAb4+Cb4+Db5+F5 Ab4+Cb4+Db5+F5 Ab4+Cb4+Db5+F5
LDb3 Db3 Db3 Db3
Bar 3
Eb7
RBb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 4
Ab
REb5+G5+Ab5+C6 Eb6 Db6 C6 Bb5 Ab5 G5 F5 Eb5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 5
D7
RA4+C5+D5+F#5 A4+C5+D5+F#5 A4+C5+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 6
Db7
RAb4+Cb4+Db5+F5 Ab4+Cb4+Db5+F5 Ab4+Cb4+Db5+F5
LDb3 Db3 Db3 Db3
Bar 7
Eb7
RBb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 8
Ab
REb5+G5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+G5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+G5+Ab5+C6
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2

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 Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man)

What are the letter notes for the Billie’s Blues (I Love My 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 D7 – Db7 – Eb7 – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man)?

The loop is D7 – Db7 – Eb7 – Ab (#IV7 – IV7 – V7 – I) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man) in?

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

What does the left hand play in Billie’s Blues (I Love My Man)?

Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Billie’s Blues (I Love My 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.