Piano chords · Rock drive
Ol’ Man River: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Jerome Kern
- Eb major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1927
- 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 Ol’ Man River without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand steady chords.
The main tune of Ol’ Man River 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.
Ol’ Man River accompaniment in letter notes
The Eb – Cm – Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab – Eb – Cm loop with power fifths in the left hand and steady 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 Ol’ Man River
What are the letter notes for the Ol’ Man River 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 Eb – Cm – Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab – Eb – Cm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Ol’ Man River?
The loop is Eb – Cm – Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab – Eb – Cm (I – vi – I – IV – I – IV – I – vi) in Eb major, and the song ends on Fm – Bb7 – Eb.
What key is Ol’ Man River in?
Eb major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Ol’ Man River?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Ol’ Man River easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 8 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Ol’ Man River?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.