Piano chords · Blues & boogie
Harlem Nocturne: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Earle Hagen
- Bb major
- 4/4
- 80 BPM
- 1940
- Easy
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 Harlem Nocturne without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand offbeat skank.
Harlem Nocturne accompaniment in letter notes
The Bb7 – Fm – Bb7 – Fm loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and offbeat skank 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 Harlem Nocturne
What are the letter notes for the Harlem Nocturne 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 Bb7 – Fm – Bb7 – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Harlem Nocturne?
The loop is Bb7 – Fm – Bb7 – Fm (I7 – v – I7 – v) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.
What key is Harlem Nocturne in?
Bb major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Harlem Nocturne?
Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Harlem Nocturne 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.