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How Great Thou Art: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Artist unknown

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Left hand Little stepsThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 How Great Thou Art without reading music. The left hand plays little steps (broken chord 1-3-5-3), and the right hand sings the tune.

How Great Thou Art accompaniment in letter notes

The E7 – A – E7 – A loop with little steps in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
E7
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 G#2 B2 G#2 E2 G#2 B2 G#2
Bar 2
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 C#3 E3 C#3 A2 C#3 E3 C#3
Bar 3
E7
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 G#2 B2 G#2 E2 G#2 B2 G#2
Bar 4
A
RA3+C#4+E4 B4 A4 G#4 A4 D5 C#5 B4 C#5
LA2 C#3 E3 C#3 A2 C#3 E3 C#3
Bar 5
E7
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 G#2 B2 G#2 E2 G#2 B2 G#2
Bar 6
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 C#3 E3 C#3 A2 C#3 E3 C#3
Bar 7
E7
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 G#2 B2 G#2 E2 G#2 B2 G#2
Bar 8
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 C#3 E3 C#3 A2 C#3 E3 C#3

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 How Great Thou Art

What are the letter notes for the How Great Thou Art 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 E7 – A – E7 – A, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in How Great Thou Art?

The loop is E7 – A – E7 – A (V7 – I – V7 – I) in A major, and the song ends on A – E7 – A.

What key is How Great Thou Art in?

A major, at about 69 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in How Great Thou Art?

Little steps: broken chord 1-3-5-3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is How Great Thou Art 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.