Piano chords · Old-time stride
If I Were A Rich Man: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
- C major
- 4/4
- 140 BPM
- 1964
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
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 Were A Rich Man without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand ticking clock.
The main tune of If I Were A Rich Man in letter notes
The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.
If I Were A Rich Man accompaniment in letter notes
The Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Bbm loop with stride jumps in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. 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 Were A Rich Man
What are the letter notes for the If I Were A Rich Man 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 Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Bbm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in If I Were A Rich Man?
The loop is Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Bbm (iv – bVII7 – bIII – bvii) in C major, and the song ends on C – G7 – C.
What key is If I Were A Rich Man in?
C major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in If I Were A Rich Man?
Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If I Were A Rich Man 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.
Can I hear the real melody of If I Were A Rich Man?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.