Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

Handful Of Keys: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Thomas "Fats" Waller

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 160 BPM
  • 1930
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Stride jumpsRight hand Skip-and-stroll chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Handful Of Keys without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand skip-and-stroll chords.

Handful Of Keys accompaniment in letter notes

The G#dim – Gm – C7 – Gm loop with stride jumps in the left hand and skip-and-stroll chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G#dim
RD5+G#5 D5+G#5 D5+G#5 D5+G#5 D5+G#5
LG#2 D3+G#3 G#2 D3+G#3
Bar 2
Gm
RD5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5
LG2 D3+G3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 3
C7
RG4+C5 G4+C5 G4+C5 G4+C5 G4+C5
LC3 G3+C4 C3 G3+C4
Bar 4
Gm
RD5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 G6 D6 Bb5 G5 F#5 F5 E5 Eb5
LG2 D3+G3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 5
G#dim
RD5+G#5 D5+G#5 D5+G#5 D5+G#5 D5+G#5
LG#2 D3+G#3 G#2 D3+G#3
Bar 6
Gm
RD5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5
LG2 D3+G3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 7
C7
RG4+C5 G4+C5 G4+C5 G4+C5 G4+C5
LC3 G3+C4 C3 G3+C4
Bar 8
Gm
RD5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5 D5+G5
LG2 D3+G3 G2 D3+G3

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 Handful Of Keys

What are the letter notes for the Handful Of Keys 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#dim – Gm – C7 – Gm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Handful Of Keys?

The loop is G#dim – Gm – C7 – Gm (biiio – ii – V7 – ii) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Handful Of Keys in?

F major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Handful Of Keys?

Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Handful Of Keys 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.