Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

Casey Jones: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Eddie Newton

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Stride jumpsThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Casey Jones without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride), and the right hand sings the tune.

Casey Jones accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – F7 – Bb – F7 loop with stride jumps in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 F3+Bb3 Bb2 F3+Bb3
Bar 2
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LF2 C3+F3 F2 C3+F3
Bar 3
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 F3+Bb3 Bb2 F3+Bb3
Bar 4
F7
RF4+A4+C5 A6 F6 Eb6 C6 A5 Ab5 G5 Gb5
LF2 C3+F3 F2 C3+F3
Bar 5
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 F3+Bb3 Bb2 F3+Bb3
Bar 6
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LF2 C3+F3 F2 C3+F3
Bar 7
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 F3+Bb3 Bb2 F3+Bb3
Bar 8
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LF2 C3+F3 F2 C3+F3

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 Casey Jones

What are the letter notes for the Casey Jones 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 Bb – F7 – Bb – F7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Casey Jones?

The loop is Bb – F7 – Bb – F7 (I – V7 – I – V7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Bb – F7 – Bb.

What key is Casey Jones in?

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

What does the left hand play in Casey Jones?

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

Is Casey Jones 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.