Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

Stepsisters' Lament: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Rodgers & Hammerstein

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Toy-soldier marchRight hand Polka-hop 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 Stepsisters' Lament without reading music. The left hand plays toy-soldier march (lh triads (2/4)) and the right hand polka-hop chords.

Stepsisters' Lament accompaniment in letter notes

The C – F – Dm – C loop with toy-soldier march in the left hand and polka-hop chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC4+E4 C3 C4+E4 C3
Bar 2
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF3+A3 F2 F3+A3 F2
Bar 3
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD3+F3 D2 D3+F3 D2
Bar 4
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 C7 G6 E6 C6 Ab5 G5 F#5 F5
LC4+E4 C3 C4+E4 C3
Bar 5
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC4+E4 C3 C4+E4 C3
Bar 6
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF3+A3 F2 F3+A3 F2
Bar 7
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD3+F3 D2 D3+F3 D2
Bar 8
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC4+E4 C3 C4+E4 C3

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 Stepsisters' Lament

What are the letter notes for the Stepsisters' Lament 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 C – F – Dm – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Stepsisters' Lament?

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

What key is Stepsisters' Lament in?

C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/4.

What does the left hand play in Stepsisters' Lament?

Toy-soldier march: lh triads (2/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Stepsisters' Lament 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.