Piano chords · Blues & boogie
Birthday: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Dmitri Shostakovich
- A major
- 4/4
- 138 BPM
- I7–IV7–I7–V7 loop
- Medium
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 Birthday without reading music. The left hand plays boogie walker (boogie-woogie line) and the right hand pumping chords.
The intro of Birthday 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.
Birthday accompaniment in letter notes
The A7 – D7 – A7 – E7 loop with boogie walker in the left hand and pumping chords in the right. 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 Birthday
What are the letter notes for the Birthday 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 A7 – D7 – A7 – E7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Birthday?
The loop is A7 – D7 – A7 – E7 (I7 – IV7 – I7 – V7) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is Birthday in?
A major, at about 138 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Birthday?
Boogie walker: boogie-woogie line, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Birthday easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Birthday?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.