Piano chords · Blues & boogie
So What: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Miles Davis
- C major
- 4/4
- 132 BPM
- 1959
- Easy
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 So What without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass), and the right hand sings the tune.
The bass riff of So What in letter notes
The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.
So What accompaniment in letter notes
The Am7 – F – Dm – C – Am7 – F – Dm – C loop with jazz walk in the left hand. 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.
Play next
Questions about So What
What are the letter notes for the So What 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 Am7 – F – Dm – C – Am7 – F – Dm – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in So What?
The loop is Am7 – F – Dm – C – Am7 – F – Dm – C (vi7 – IV – ii – I – vi7 – IV – ii – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is So What in?
C major, at about 132 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in So What?
Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is So What easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Can I hear the real melody of So What?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the bass riff of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.