Piano chords · Bossa beach
Cotton Jenny: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Gordon Lightfoot
- A major
- 4/4
- 140 BPM
- I–IV–I7–IV loop
- 1969
- Easy
Play the full song with sheet music
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 Cotton Jenny without reading music. The left hand plays bossa seesaw (root–fifth 1-1-5-5) and the right hand late-knock chords.
Cotton Jenny accompaniment in letter notes
The A – D – A7 – D loop with bossa seesaw in the left hand and late-knock chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Cotton Jenny
What are the letter notes for the Cotton Jenny 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 A – D – A7 – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Cotton Jenny?
The loop is A – D – A7 – D (I – IV – I7 – IV) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is Cotton Jenny in?
A major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Cotton Jenny?
Bossa seesaw: root–fifth 1-1-5-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Cotton Jenny 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.