Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Isfahan: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Duke Ellington

  • Db major
  • 4/4
  • 80 BPM
  • 1967
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Boogie walkerRight hand Bossa 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 Isfahan without reading music. The left hand plays boogie walker (boogie-woogie line) and the right hand bossa chords.

Isfahan accompaniment in letter notes

The Db – Bb – Bb7 – Eb7 loop with boogie walker in the left hand and bossa chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db
RF4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3 Cb3 Ab3 Bb3 Ab3 F3 Ab3
Bar 2
Bb
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Ab3 F3 G3 F3 D3 F3
Bar 3
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Ab3 F3 G3 F3 D3 F3
Bar 4
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 Gb5 G5 Bb5 C6 Bb5 G5 Gb5 Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 Db3 Bb2 C3 Bb2 G2 Bb2
Bar 5
Db
RF4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3 Cb3 Ab3 Bb3 Ab3 F3 Ab3
Bar 6
Bb
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Ab3 F3 G3 F3 D3 F3
Bar 7
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Ab3 F3 G3 F3 D3 F3
Bar 8
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 Db3 Bb2 C3 Bb2 G2 Bb2

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 Isfahan

What are the letter notes for the Isfahan 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 Db – Bb – Bb7 – Eb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Isfahan?

The loop is Db – Bb – Bb7 – Eb7 (I – VI – VI7 – II7) in Db major, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Db.

What key is Isfahan in?

Db major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Isfahan?

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

Is Isfahan 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.