Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
Green Book: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Walter Becker & Donald Fagen
- D major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 2003
- 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 Green Book without reading music. The left hand plays island pulse (root bass · tresillo 3-3-2) and the right hand late-knock chords.
Green Book accompaniment in letter notes
The D7 – Eb – D7 – Eb loop with island pulse 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 Green Book
What are the letter notes for the Green Book 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 D7 – Eb – D7 – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Green Book?
The loop is D7 – Eb – D7 – Eb (I7 – bII – I7 – bII) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is Green Book in?
D major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Green Book?
Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Green Book 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.