Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Joyous Christmas: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Johnny Marks

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Tumble downRight hand Late-knock 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 Joyous Christmas without reading music. The left hand plays tumble down (broken chord 8-5-1) and the right hand late-knock chords.

Joyous Christmas accompaniment in letter notes

The C – Am – Dm – G7 loop with tumble down in the left hand and late-knock chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC4 G3 C3
Bar 2
Am
RC4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4
LA3 E3 A2
Bar 3
Dm
RF4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5
LD3 A2 D2
Bar 4
G7
RB4+D5+G5 F4 G4 B4 D5 F5 G5 B5 D6
LG3 D3 G2
Bar 5
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC4 G3 C3
Bar 6
Am
RC4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4
LA3 E3 A2
Bar 7
Dm
RF4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5
LD3 A2 D2
Bar 8
G7
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG3 D3 G2

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 Joyous Christmas

What are the letter notes for the Joyous Christmas 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 C – Am – Dm – G7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Joyous Christmas?

The loop is C – Am – Dm – G7 (I – vi – ii – V7) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Joyous Christmas in?

C major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Joyous Christmas?

Tumble down: broken chord 8-5-1, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

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