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Piano chords · Lullaby boat

For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Traditional

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Swelling 6/8The 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 For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow without reading music. The left hand plays swelling 6/8 (open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.

For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow accompaniment in letter notes

The C – G – D7 – G loop with swelling 6/8 in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 2
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 3
D7
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 4
G
RG4+B4+D5 G4 B4 D5 G5 B5 D6
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 5
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 6
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 7
D7
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 8
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3

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 For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow

What are the letter notes for the For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow 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 C – G – D7 – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow?

The loop is C – G – D7 – G (IV – I – V7 – I) in G major, and the song ends on G – C – G.

What key is For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow in?

G major, at about 160 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow?

Swelling 6/8: open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow 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.

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