Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
Southern Nights: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Allen Toussaint
- F major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1974
- 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 Southern Nights without reading music. The left hand plays ping-pong bounce (broken chord 8-5) and the right hand swing push.
Southern Nights accompaniment in letter notes
The F – D7 – G7 – Bb loop with ping-pong bounce in the left hand and swing push 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 Southern Nights
What are the letter notes for the Southern Nights 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 F – D7 – G7 – Bb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Southern Nights?
The loop is F – D7 – G7 – Bb (I – VI7 – II7 – IV) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Southern Nights in?
F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Southern Nights?
Ping-pong bounce: broken chord 8-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Southern Nights 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.