Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

In The Bleak Midwinter: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Gustav Holst

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 78 BPM
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Velvet jazzRight hand Pausing chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 In The Bleak Midwinter without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand pausing chords.

In The Bleak Midwinter accompaniment in letter notes

The C7 – Gb7 – F – Dm loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and pausing chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C7
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC4+Bb4 C4+E4 C3
Bar 2
Gb7
RBb4+Db5+Fb5+Gb5 Bb4+Db5+Fb5+Gb5 Bb4+Db5+Fb5+Gb5
LGb3+Fb4 Gb3+Bb3 Gb2
Bar 3
F
RA4+C5+Eb5+F5 A4+C5+Eb5+F5 A4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF3+Eb4 F3+A3 F2
Bar 4
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 E5 F5 A5 B5 A5 F5 F5 D5
LD3+C4 D3+F3 D2
Bar 5
C7
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC4+Bb4 C4+E4 C3
Bar 6
Gb7
RBb4+Db5+Fb5+Gb5 Bb4+Db5+Fb5+Gb5 Bb4+Db5+Fb5+Gb5
LGb3+Fb4 Gb3+Bb3 Gb2
Bar 7
F
RA4+C5+Eb5+F5 A4+C5+Eb5+F5 A4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF3+Eb4 F3+A3 F2
Bar 8
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LD3+C4 D3+F3 D2

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 In The Bleak Midwinter

What are the letter notes for the In The Bleak Midwinter 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 C7 – Gb7 – F – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in In The Bleak Midwinter?

The loop is C7 – Gb7 – F – Dm (V7 – bII7 – I – vi) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is In The Bleak Midwinter in?

F major, at about 78 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in In The Bleak Midwinter?

Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is In The Bleak Midwinter 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 7 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.