Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

I'm In A Dancing Mood: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Dave Brubeck

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Stride jumpsRight hand Wait-a-beat chordsChords 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'm In A Dancing Mood without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand wait-a-beat chords.

I'm In A Dancing Mood accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – Ab – Bb – Ab loop with stride jumps in the left hand and wait-a-beat chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3+D4 Bb2
Bar 2
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3+C4 Ab2
Bar 3
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3+D4 Bb2
Bar 4
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C7 Ab6 Eb6 C6 Bbb5 Ab5 G5 Gb5
LAb2 Eb3+C4 Ab2
Bar 5
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3+D4 Bb2
Bar 6
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3+C4 Ab2
Bar 7
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3+D4 Bb2
Bar 8
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3+C4 Ab2

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'm In A Dancing Mood

What are the letter notes for the I'm In A Dancing Mood 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 – Ab – Bb – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in I'm In A Dancing Mood?

The loop is Bb – Ab – Bb – Ab (I – bVII – I – bVII) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is I'm In A Dancing Mood in?

Bb major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in I'm In A Dancing Mood?

Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I'm In A Dancing Mood 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.