Piano chords · Old-time stride
Kum Ba Yah: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
- C major
- 4/4
- 130 BPM
- Easy
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 Kum Ba Yah without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand heartbeat chords.
Kum Ba Yah accompaniment in letter notes
The G7 – C – F – F#dim loop with stride jumps in the left hand and heartbeat 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 Kum Ba Yah
What are the letter notes for the Kum Ba Yah 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 – F – F#dim, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Kum Ba Yah?
The loop is G7 – C – F – F#dim (V7 – I – IV – #ivo) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is Kum Ba Yah in?
C major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Kum Ba Yah?
Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Kum Ba Yah 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.