Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Good King Wenceslas: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Christmas Carol

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Jazz walkRight hand Pausing 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 Good King Wenceslas without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass) and the right hand pausing chords.

Good King Wenceslas accompaniment in letter notes

The G – E7 – A7 – D7 loop with jazz walk in the left hand and pausing chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 A2 Bb2 B2
Bar 2
E7
RG#4+B4+D5+E5 G#4+B4+D5+E5 G#4+B4+D5+E5
LE2 F#2 G2 G#2
Bar 3
A7
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4
LA2 B2 C3 C#3
Bar 4
D7
RF#4+A4+C5+D5 F#4+A4+C5+D5 F5 F#5 A5 B5 A5 F#5 F5 D5
LD2 E2 F2 F#2
Bar 5
G
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 A2 Bb2 B2
Bar 6
E7
RG#4+B4+D5+E5 G#4+B4+D5+E5 G#4+B4+D5+E5
LE2 F#2 G2 G#2
Bar 7
A7
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4
LA2 B2 C3 C#3
Bar 8
D7
RF#4+A4+C5+D5 F#4+A4+C5+D5 F#4+A4+C5+D5
LD2 E2 F2 F#2

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 Good King Wenceslas

What are the letter notes for the Good King Wenceslas 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 G – E7 – A7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Good King Wenceslas?

The loop is G – E7 – A7 – D7 (I – VI7 – II7 – V7) in G major, and the song ends on G – C7 – G.

What key is Good King Wenceslas in?

G major, at about 150 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Good King Wenceslas?

Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Good King Wenceslas 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 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.