Piano chords · Old-time stride
Old Joe Clark: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Tennessee Folksong
- D major
- 2/4
- 100 BPM
- bVII–I–bVII–I loop
- Tricky
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 Joe Clark without reading music. The left hand plays kangaroo leaps (stride (2/4)) and the right hand marching clock.
Old Joe Clark accompaniment in letter notes
The C – D – C – D loop with kangaroo leaps in the left hand and marching clock 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 Old Joe Clark
What are the letter notes for the Old Joe Clark 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 C – D – C – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Old Joe Clark?
The loop is C – D – C – D (bVII – I – bVII – I) in D major, and the song ends on D – C – D.
What key is Old Joe Clark in?
D major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/4.
What does the left hand play in Old Joe Clark?
Kangaroo leaps: stride (2/4), a tricky pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Old Joe Clark easy to play on piano?
It is a tricky one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.