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Piano chords · Bossa beach

St. Thomas: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Sonny Rollins

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Lazy seesawRight hand Hand-clap chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 St. Thomas without reading music. The left hand plays lazy seesaw (root–fifth 1-5-5) and the right hand hand-clap chords.

St. Thomas accompaniment in letter notes

The A7 – Dm – G7 – C loop with lazy seesaw in the left hand and hand-clap chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A7
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4
LA2 E3 E3
Bar 2
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LD2 A2 A2
Bar 3
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 D3 D3
Bar 4
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 F6 E6 D6 C6 B5 A5 G5 F5
LC3 G3 G3
Bar 5
A7
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4
LA2 E3 E3
Bar 6
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LD2 A2 A2
Bar 7
G7
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 D3 D3
Bar 8
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3 G3

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 St. Thomas

What are the letter notes for the St. Thomas 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 A7 – Dm – G7 – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in St. Thomas?

The loop is A7 – Dm – G7 – C (VI7 – ii – V7 – I) in C major, and the song ends on C – G7 – C.

What key is St. Thomas in?

C major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in St. Thomas?

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

Is St. Thomas 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.