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Piano chords · Bossa beach

Hernando's Hideaway: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Richard Adler

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Bossa swayRight 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 Hernando's Hideaway without reading music. The left hand plays bossa sway (root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&)) and the right hand pausing chords.

Hernando's Hideaway accompaniment in letter notes

The C7 – Fm – C7 – Fm loop with bossa sway in the left hand and pausing chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C7
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 2
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF2 F2 F2 F2
Bar 3
C7
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 4
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 F6 Eb6 Db6 C6 Bb5 Ab5 G5 F5
LF2 F2 F2 F2
Bar 5
C7
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 6
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF2 F2 F2 F2
Bar 7
C7
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 8
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF2 F2 F2 F2

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 Hernando's Hideaway

What are the letter notes for the Hernando's Hideaway 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 C7 – Fm – C7 – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Hernando's Hideaway?

The loop is C7 – Fm – C7 – Fm (III7 – vi – III7 – vi) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Hernando's Hideaway in?

Ab major, at about 110 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Hernando's Hideaway?

Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Hernando's Hideaway 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.