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It's The Same Old Shillelagh: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Pat White

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Swelling 6/8Right hand Hammock 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 It's The Same Old Shillelagh without reading music. The left hand plays swelling 6/8 (open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8)) and the right hand hammock chords.

It's The Same Old Shillelagh accompaniment in letter notes

The G7 – C – G7 – C loop with swelling 6/8 in the left hand and hammock chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G7
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 2
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 3
G7
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 4
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 E4 G4 C5 E5 G5 C6
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 5
G7
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 6
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 7
G7
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 8
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 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's The Same Old Shillelagh

What are the letter notes for the It's The Same Old Shillelagh 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 G7 – C – G7 – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in It's The Same Old Shillelagh?

The loop is G7 – C – G7 – C (V7 – I – V7 – I) in C major, and the song ends on C – G7 – C.

What key is It's The Same Old Shillelagh in?

C major, at about 135 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in It's The Same Old Shillelagh?

Swelling 6/8: open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is It's The Same Old Shillelagh 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.