Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess): easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By George Gershwin

  • D minor
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 1935
  • Easy
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Left hand Stride jumpsRight hand Hopscotch bellsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess) without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

The main tune of It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess) in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Dm → G7
RA5 G#5 D5 G5 F#5 D5
LD2 F3+A3+B3+E4 G2 F3+B3+E4
Bar 2
Dm → G7
RF5 D5
LD2 F3+A3+B3+E4 A2 G#2 G2 F3+B3+E4
Bar 3
Dm7 → G7
RA5 G#5 D5 G5 F#5 D5
LD2 F3+C4+E4 G2 F3+B3+E4
Bar 4
Dm → G7
RF5 D5
LD2 F2 F#2 G2 F3+B3+E4

It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess) accompaniment in letter notes

The Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 – Dm7 – G7 – Dm – G7 loop with stride jumps in the left hand and hopscotch bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Dm → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 2
Dm → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 3
Dm7 → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 4
Dm → G7
RD5 F4+A4 G6 F6 D6 B5 A5 Ab5 G5 F#5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 5
Dm → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 6
Dm → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 7
Dm7 → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+G3
Bar 8
Dm → G7
RD5 F4+A4 B4+D5
LD2 A2+D3 G2 D3+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 It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess)

What are the letter notes for the It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess) 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 Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 – Dm7 – G7 – Dm – G7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess)?

The loop is Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 – Dm7 – G7 – Dm – G7 (i – IV7 – i – IV7 – i7 – IV7 – i – IV7) in D minor, and the song ends on D – A7 – D.

What key is It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess) in?

D minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess)?

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

Is It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess) easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of It Ain't Necessarily So (from Porgy And Bess)?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.