Piano chords · Old-time stride
Once-A-Year-Day: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Adler & Ross
- F major
- 2/4
- 140 BPM
- V7–I–V7–I loop
- 1954
- Medium
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 Once-A-Year-Day without reading music. The left hand plays toy-soldier march (lh triads (2/4)) and the right hand polka-hop chords.
Once-A-Year-Day accompaniment in letter notes
The C7 – F – C7 – F loop with toy-soldier march in the left hand and polka-hop 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 Once-A-Year-Day
What are the letter notes for the Once-A-Year-Day 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 C7 – F – C7 – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Once-A-Year-Day?
The loop is C7 – F – C7 – F (V7 – I – V7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Once-A-Year-Day in?
F major, at about 140 beats a minute in 2/4.
What does the left hand play in Once-A-Year-Day?
Toy-soldier march: lh triads (2/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Once-A-Year-Day easy to play on piano?
It is a medium 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.