Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
Rocket 88: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Jackie Brenston
- D major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 1951
- 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 Rocket 88 without reading music. The left hand plays boogie climb (broken chord 1-1-3-3-5-5-6-5) and the right hand skip-and-stroll chords.
Rocket 88 accompaniment in letter notes
The G7 – D – G7 – D loop with boogie climb in the left hand and skip-and-stroll 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 Rocket 88
What are the letter notes for the Rocket 88 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 – D – G7 – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Rocket 88?
The loop is G7 – D – G7 – D (IV7 – I – IV7 – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is Rocket 88 in?
D major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Rocket 88?
Boogie climb: broken chord 1-1-3-3-5-5-6-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Rocket 88 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.