Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Lush Life: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Billy Strayhorn

  • Db major
  • 4/4
  • 90 BPM
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsThe right hand sings the tuneChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Lush Life without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths), and the right hand sings the tune.

The catchy part of Lush Life 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
Db → Cb7
RF3+Ab3+Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Eb3+Bbb3+Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4
LDb2+Ab2 Cb1+Gb2
Bar 2
Dbmaj7 → Cb7
RF3+C4+F4 F4 F4 F4 F4 Eb3+Bbb3+Eb4 Eb4
LDb2+Ab2 Cb1+Gb2
Bar 3
Dbmaj7 → Cb7
RF3+C4+F4 F4 F4 F4 F4 Eb3+Bbb3+Eb4 Eb4
LDb2+Ab2 Cb1+Gb2
Bar 4
Dbmaj7 → Ebm7 → Fbmaj7
RF3+C4+F4 F4 Gb3+Db4+Gb4 Gb4 Ab3+Eb4+Ab4 Ab4 Bbb3+Db4+Fb4+Bbb4 Bbb4
LDb2+Ab2 Eb2+Bb2 Fb2+Cb2 Gb2+Db3

Lush Life accompaniment in letter notes

The Db – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Ebm7 – Fbmaj7 loop with power fifths in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db → Cb7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+Gb4
LDb4+Ab4 Db4+Ab4 Cb2+Gb3 Cb2+Gb3
Bar 2
Dbmaj7 → Cb7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+Gb4
LDb4+Ab4 Db4+Ab4 Db3+Ab3 Cb2+Gb3
Bar 3
Dbmaj7 → Cb7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+Gb4
LDb4+Ab4 Db4+Ab4 Db3+Ab3 Cb2+Gb3
Bar 4
Dbmaj7 → Ebm7 → Fbmaj7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Eb4+Gb4+Bb4 Cb6 Ab6 Fb6 Cb5 Bbb5 Ab5 Abb5 Gb5
LDb4+Ab4 Eb3+Bb3 Fb2+Cb2 Fb2+Cb2
Bar 5
Db → Cb7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+Gb4
LDb4+Ab4 Db4+Ab4 Cb2+Gb3 Cb2+Gb3
Bar 6
Dbmaj7 → Cb7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+Gb4
LDb4+Ab4 Db4+Ab4 Db3+Ab3 Cb2+Gb3
Bar 7
Dbmaj7 → Cb7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+Gb4
LDb4+Ab4 Db4+Ab4 Db3+Ab3 Cb2+Gb3
Bar 8
Dbmaj7 → Ebm7 → Fbmaj7
RDb4+F4+Ab4 Eb4+Gb4+Bb4 Fb4+Ab4+Cb4
LDb4+Ab4 Eb3+Bb3 Fb2+Cb2 Fb2+Cb2

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 Lush Life

What are the letter notes for the Lush Life 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 Db – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Ebm7 – Fbmaj7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Lush Life?

The loop is Db – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Cb7 – Dbmaj7 – Ebm7 – Fbmaj7 (I – bVII7 – Imaj7 – bVII7 – Imaj7 – bVII7 – Imaj7 – ii7 – bIIImaj7) in Db major, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Db.

What key is Lush Life in?

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

What does the left hand play in Lush Life?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Lush Life easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 9 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Lush Life?

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

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