Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Old Christmas Card: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Vaughn Horton

  • C major
  • 2/2
  • 120 BPM
  • 1947
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Jazz walkRight 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 Old Christmas Card without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass) and the right hand steady chords.

Old Christmas Card accompaniment in letter notes

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

Bar 1
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 A2 Bb2 B2
Bar 2
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 E3
Bar 3
Cdim
REb4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+Gb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 Eb3
Bar 4
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 Eb5 E5 G5 A5 G5 E5 Eb5 C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 E3
Bar 5
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 A2 Bb2 B2
Bar 6
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 E3
Bar 7
Cdim
REb4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+Gb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 Eb3
Bar 8
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 E3

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 Old Christmas Card

What are the letter notes for the Old Christmas Card 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 – Cdim – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Old Christmas Card?

The loop is G7 – C – Cdim – C (V7 – I – io – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Old Christmas Card in?

C major, at about 120 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Old Christmas Card?

Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Old Christmas Card 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.