Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Christmas Mem'ries: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Barbra Streisand

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Velvet jazzRight hand Hopscotch 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 Christmas Mem'ries without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand hopscotch chords.

Christmas Mem'ries accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – Eb – Bb – Eb loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and hopscotch chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 Ab3+D4+F4 Ab3+D4+F4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 2
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 Db4+G4+Bb4 Db4+G4+Bb4
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 3
Bb
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 Ab3+D4+F4 Ab3+D4+F4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 4
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 Db4+G4+Bb4 Gb5 G5 Bb5 C6 Bb5 G5 Gb5 Eb5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 5
Bb
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 Ab3+D4+F4 Ab3+D4+F4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 6
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 Db4+G4+Bb4 Db4+G4+Bb4
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 7
Bb
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 Ab3+D4+F4 Ab3+D4+F4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 8
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 Db4+G4+Bb4 Db4+G4+Bb4
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3

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 Christmas Mem'ries

What are the letter notes for the Christmas Mem'ries 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 – Eb – Bb – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Christmas Mem'ries?

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

What key is Christmas Mem'ries in?

Bb major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Christmas Mem'ries?

Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Christmas Mem'ries 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.