Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Cathy's Clown: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Everly Brothers

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Tumble downRight hand Wait-a-beat chordsChords 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 Cathy's Clown without reading music. The left hand plays tumble down (broken chord 8-5-1) and the right hand wait-a-beat chords.

Cathy's Clown accompaniment in letter notes

The F – Bb – F – Bb loop with tumble down in the left hand and wait-a-beat chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3 C3 F2
Bar 2
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb3 F3 Bb2
Bar 3
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3 C3 F2
Bar 4
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 F4 Bb4 D5 F5 Bb5 D6 F6 Bb6
LBb3 F3 Bb2
Bar 5
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3 C3 F2
Bar 6
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb3 F3 Bb2
Bar 7
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3 C3 F2
Bar 8
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb3 F3 Bb2

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 Cathy's Clown

What are the letter notes for the Cathy's Clown 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 – Bb – F – Bb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Cathy's Clown?

The loop is F – Bb – F – Bb (I – IV – I – IV) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Cathy's Clown in?

F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Cathy's Clown?

Tumble down: broken chord 8-5-1, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Cathy's Clown 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.