Piano chords · Blues & boogie
Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Billy Austin & Louis Jordan
- G minor
- 4/4
- 128 BPM
- 1943
- Easy
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 Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass) and the right hand steady chords.
Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t accompaniment in letter notes
The Gm – Em – Eb7 – D7 loop with jazz walk in the left hand and steady chords 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 Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t
What are the letter notes for the Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t 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 Gm – Em – Eb7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t?
The loop is Gm – Em – Eb7 – D7 (i – vi – bVI7 – V7) in G minor, and the song ends on Eb – F – Gm.
What key is Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t in?
G minor, at about 128 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t?
Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.