Piano chords · Waltz garden
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Db major
- 3/4
- 106 BPM
- 1982
- Medium
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 Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence without reading music. The left hand plays oom-pah-pah (waltz oom-pah-pah), and the right hand sings the tune.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence accompaniment in letter notes
The Gb – Ab – Bbm – Fm loop with oom-pah-pah in the left hand. 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.
Questions about Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
What are the letter notes for the Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence 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 Gb – Ab – Bbm – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence?
The loop is Gb – Ab – Bbm – Fm (IV – V – vi – iii) in Db major, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Db.
What key is Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence in?
Db major, at about 106 beats a minute in 3/4.
What does the left hand play in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence?
Oom-pah-pah: waltz oom-pah-pah, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence 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.