Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Waltz garden

Christmas Time Is Here: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Vince Guaraldi

  • F major
  • 3/4
  • 80 BPM
  • 1966
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Moon River rollRight hand Waltz chordsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 Time Is Here without reading music. The left hand plays moon river roll (open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4)) and the right hand waltz chords.

The main tune of Christmas Time Is Here in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bbm
RBb3+Db4 Db6 C6 Bb5 C6
LF2 Db3
Bar 2
F
RA5+C6 G5 F5 F5 A3+C4 F3
LF2 C3
Bar 3
F
RBb3+Db4 C5+F5+C6
LF2 Db3
Bar 4
F
RE4+A4+E5 C5 C5 A4
LF2 C3 A3

Christmas Time Is Here accompaniment in letter notes

The Bbm – F – F – F loop with moon river roll in the left hand and waltz chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bbm
RBb3+Db4+F4 Bb3+Db4+F4 Bb3+Db4+F4
LBb2 F3 Db4
Bar 2
F
RF4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 A3
Bar 3
F
RF4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 A3
Bar 4
F
RF4+A4+C5 F4 A4 C5 F5 A5 C6 F6 A6
LF2 C3 A3
Bar 5
Bbm
RBb3+Db4+F4 Bb3+Db4+F4 Bb3+Db4+F4
LBb2 F3 Db4
Bar 6
F
RF4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 A3
Bar 7
F
RF4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 A3
Bar 8
F
RF4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 A3

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 Time Is Here

What are the letter notes for the Christmas Time Is Here 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 Bbm – F – F – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Christmas Time Is Here?

The loop is Bbm – F – F – F (iv – I – iv – I) in F major, and the song ends on Gm – Bb – F.

What key is Christmas Time Is Here in?

F major, at about 80 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in Christmas Time Is Here?

Moon River roll: open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Christmas Time Is Here easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Christmas Time Is Here?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 6 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.