Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

I'm Old Fashioned: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Johnny Mercer

  • Bb major
  • 4/4
  • 160 BPM
  • 1942
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Boogie walkerRight hand Hopscotch bellsChords 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 Old Fashioned without reading music. The left hand plays boogie walker (boogie-woogie line) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

I'm Old Fashioned accompaniment in letter notes

The F7 – D7 – G7 – C7 loop with boogie walker in the left hand and hopscotch bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F7
RF5 Eb4+A4+C5 Eb4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 Eb3 C3 D3 C3 A2 C3
Bar 2
D7
RD5 C4+F#4+A4 C4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 C3 A2 B2 A2 F#2 A2
Bar 3
G7
RG5 F4+B4+D5 F4+B4+D5
LG2 D3 F3 D3 E3 D3 B2 D3
Bar 4
C7
RC5 Bb3+E4+G4 Eb5 E5 G5 A5 G5 E5 Eb5 C5
LC3 G3 Bb3 G3 A3 G3 E3 G3
Bar 5
F7
RF5 Eb4+A4+C5 Eb4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 Eb3 C3 D3 C3 A2 C3
Bar 6
D7
RD5 C4+F#4+A4 C4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 C3 A2 B2 A2 F#2 A2
Bar 7
G7
RG5 F4+B4+D5 F4+B4+D5
LG2 D3 F3 D3 E3 D3 B2 D3
Bar 8
C7
RC5 Bb3+E4+G4 Bb3+E4+G4
LC3 G3 Bb3 G3 A3 G3 E3 G3

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 Old Fashioned

What are the letter notes for the I'm Old Fashioned 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 F7 – D7 – G7 – C7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in I'm Old Fashioned?

The loop is F7 – D7 – G7 – C7 (V7 – III7 – VI7 – II7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is I'm Old Fashioned in?

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

What does the left hand play in I'm Old Fashioned?

Boogie walker: boogie-woogie line, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I'm Old Fashioned 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.