Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Hugh Martin
- A minor
- 4/4
- 106 BPM
- 1943
- Medium
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 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas without reading music. The left hand plays river roll (open arpeggio 1-5-8-9-10) and the right hand soft chords.
The main tune of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in letter notes
The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas accompaniment in letter notes
The C – C7 – Bb7 – C – C7 – Bb7 loop with river roll in the left hand and soft 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.
Play next
Questions about Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
What are the letter notes for the Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 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 – C7 – Bb7 – C – C7 – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas?
The loop is C – C7 – Bb7 – C – C7 – Bb7 (III – III7 – bII7 – III – III7 – bII7) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.
What key is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in?
A minor, at about 106 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas?
River roll: open arpeggio 1-5-8-9-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 6 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.