Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do): easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Frank Sinatra

  • Bb major
  • 4/4
  • 76 BPM
  • Easy
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Style

Left hand Velvet jazzThe 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 I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)), and the right hand sings the tune.

I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – C7 – Cm – F7 loop with velvet jazz in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 2
C7
RC4+E4+G4
LE3+Bb3 E3+C4 E3+Bb3 E3+C4
Bar 3
Cm
RC4+Eb4+G4
LEb3+Bb3 Eb3+C4 Eb3+Bb3 Eb3+C4
Bar 4
F7
RF4+A4+C5 Ab4 A4 C5 D5 C5 A4 Ab4 F4
LA2+Eb3 A2+F3 A2+Eb3 A2+F3
Bar 5
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 6
C7
RC4+E4+G4
LE3+Bb3 E3+C4 E3+Bb3 E3+C4
Bar 7
Cm
RC4+Eb4+G4
LEb3+Bb3 Eb3+C4 Eb3+Bb3 Eb3+C4
Bar 8
F7
RF4+A4+C5
LA2+Eb3 A2+F3 A2+Eb3 A2+F3

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 I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)

What are the letter notes for the I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) 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 Bb – C7 – Cm – F7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)?

The loop is Bb – C7 – Cm – F7 (I – II7 – ii – V7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) in?

Bb major, at about 76 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)?

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 I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) 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.