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Shenandoah: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By American Folksong

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Oom-pah-pahThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 Shenandoah without reading music. The left hand plays oom-pah-pah (waltz oom-pah-pah), and the right hand sings the tune.

Shenandoah accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Cm – Fm – Bb7 loop with oom-pah-pah in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 G2+Bb2 G2+Bb2
Bar 2
Cm
RC4+Eb4+G4
LC3 Eb3+G3 Eb3+G3
Bar 3
Fm
RF4+Ab4+C5
LF2 Ab2+C3 Ab2+C3
Bar 4
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4 F4 Ab4 Bb4 D5 F5 Ab5 Bb5 D6
LBb2 D3+F3 D3+F3
Bar 5
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 G2+Bb2 G2+Bb2
Bar 6
Cm
RC4+Eb4+G4
LC3 Eb3+G3 Eb3+G3
Bar 7
Fm
RF4+Ab4+C5
LF2 Ab2+C3 Ab2+C3
Bar 8
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 D3+F3 D3+F3

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 Shenandoah

What are the letter notes for the Shenandoah 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 Eb – Cm – Fm – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Shenandoah?

The loop is Eb – Cm – Fm – Bb7 (I – vi – ii – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is Shenandoah in?

Eb major, at about 88 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Shenandoah?

Oom-pah-pah: waltz oom-pah-pah, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Shenandoah 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 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.