Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Samson In New Orleans: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Leonard Cohen

  • Db major
  • 4/4
  • 56 BPM
  • 2014
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Seesaw bassRight hand Ticking clockChords 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 Samson In New Orleans without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5) and the right hand ticking clock.

Samson In New Orleans accompaniment in letter notes

The Db – F7 – Bbm – Gb loop with seesaw bass in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db
RDb4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4
LDb3 Ab3 Db3 Ab3
Bar 2
F7
RF4 F4 F4 F4 F4 F4 F4 F4
LF2 C3 F2 C3
Bar 3
Bbm
RBb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3
LBb2 F3 Bb2 F3
Bar 4
Gb
RGb4 Gb4 Gb4 Gb4 Bbb4 Bb4 Db5 Eb5 Db5 Bb4 Bbb4 Gb4
LGb2 Db3 Gb2 Db3
Bar 5
Db
RDb4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4 Db4
LDb3 Ab3 Db3 Ab3
Bar 6
F7
RF4 F4 F4 F4 F4 F4 F4 F4
LF2 C3 F2 C3
Bar 7
Bbm
RBb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3 Bb3
LBb2 F3 Bb2 F3
Bar 8
Gb
RGb4 Gb4 Gb4 Gb4 Gb4 Gb4 Gb4 Gb4
LGb2 Db3 Gb2 Db3

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 Samson In New Orleans

What are the letter notes for the Samson In New Orleans 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 Db – F7 – Bbm – Gb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Samson In New Orleans?

The loop is Db – F7 – Bbm – Gb (I – III7 – vi – IV) in Db major, and the song ends on Bbm – Ab – Db.

What key is Samson In New Orleans in?

Db major, at about 56 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Samson In New Orleans?

Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Samson In New Orleans 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.