Piano chords · Lullaby boat
I Saw Three Ships: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Traditional
- C major
- 6/8
- 135 BPM
- I–V7–I–V7 loop
- Medium
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 Saw Three Ships without reading music. The left hand plays swelling 6/8 (open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.
I Saw Three Ships accompaniment in letter notes
The C – G7 – C – G7 loop with swelling 6/8 in the left hand. 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 I Saw Three Ships
What are the letter notes for the I Saw Three Ships 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 – G7 – C – G7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in I Saw Three Ships?
The loop is C – G7 – C – G7 (I – V7 – I – V7) in C major, and the song ends on C – G7 – C.
What key is I Saw Three Ships in?
C major, at about 135 beats a minute in 6/8.
What does the left hand play in I Saw Three Ships?
Swelling 6/8: open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Saw Three Ships easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.