Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

Caravan: piano accompaniment sheet music

By Duke Ellington

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Stride jumpsRight hand Soft chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Caravan written out as piano music: the V7 – i – V7 – i loop in F minor for both hands, with chord names and finger numbers. Press play and follow the cursor. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand soft chords.

Caravan chord chart

The loop once round, bar by bar, in F minor. The roman numeral says the chord's place in the key, so the same chart works in any key.

BarChordNumeralNotes
1C7V7C E G Bb
2FmiF Ab C
3C7V7C E G Bb
4FmiF Ab C

What the sheet music shows

The grand staff: the right hand on the treble staff, the left hand on the bass staff, with the chord names above and a finger number on each note (1 is the thumb). It is the accompaniment: stride jumps (stride) in the left hand and soft chords in the right, over the C7 – Fm – C7 – Fm chords.

Press play and a cursor follows the music. Above it, Colours paints each note in its key’s colour and Note names writes its letter on its head.

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Questions about Caravan

Does the sheet music for Caravan have finger numbers?

Yes: every note of both hands has its finger number, 1 being the thumb. To read the notes alone, turn Fingers off above the music.

What chords are in Caravan?

The loop is C7 – Fm – C7 – Fm (V7 – i – V7 – i) in F minor, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Fm.

What key is Caravan in?

F minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Caravan?

Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Caravan 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.