Piano chords · Blues & boogie
If I Had A Boat: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Lyle Lovett
- E major
- 4/4
- 93 BPM
- 1987
- Easy
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 If I Had A Boat without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5), and the right hand sings the tune.
If I Had A Boat accompaniment in letter notes
The E – Asus4 – E – E loop with seesaw bass 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 If I Had A Boat
What are the letter notes for the If I Had A Boat 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 E – Asus4 – E – E, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in If I Had A Boat?
The loop is E – Asus4 – E – E (I5 – IVsus – I – I5) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.
What key is If I Had A Boat in?
E major, at about 93 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in If I Had A Boat?
Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If I Had A Boat 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.