Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?): easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Billie Holiday

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Velvet jazzRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand steady chords.

Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) accompaniment in letter notes

The Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 2
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LB2+F3 B2+G3 B2+F3 B2+G3
Bar 3
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 4
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 Bb4 B4 D5 E5 D5 B4 Bb4 G4
LB2+F3 B2+G3 B2+F3 B2+G3
Bar 5
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 6
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LB2+F3 B2+G3 B2+F3 B2+G3
Bar 7
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 8
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LB2+F3 B2+G3 B2+F3 B2+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 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)

What are the letter notes for the Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) 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, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)?

The loop is Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 (vi – II7 – vi – II7) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) in?

F major, at about 88 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)?

Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) 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.