Piano chords · Bossa beach
Blue Bayou: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Roy Orbison & Joe Melson
- F major
- 4/4
- 104 BPM
- I–V7–I–V7 loop
- 1961
- 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 Blue Bayou without reading music. The left hand plays island seesaw (root–fifth 1-5-1) and the right hand hopscotch bells.
Blue Bayou accompaniment in letter notes
The F – C7 – F – C7 loop with island seesaw in the left hand and hopscotch bells 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.
Play next
Questions about Blue Bayou
What are the letter notes for the Blue Bayou 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 – C7 – F – C7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Blue Bayou?
The loop is F – C7 – F – C7 (I – V7 – I – V7) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Blue Bayou in?
F major, at about 104 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Blue Bayou?
Island seesaw: root–fifth 1-5-1, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Blue Bayou 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.