Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Stormy Blues: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Billie Holiday

  • Ab major
  • 4/4
  • 66 BPM
  • 1954
  • Easy
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Left hand Velvet jazzThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 Stormy Blues without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)), and the right hand sings the tune.

Stormy Blues accompaniment in letter notes

The Db7 – Bbm – Eb7 – Ab loop with velvet jazz in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db7
RDb4+F4+Ab4
LDb4+Cb4 Db4+F4 Db3
Bar 2
Bbm
RBb3+Db4+F4
LBb3+Ab4 Bb3+Db4 Bb2
Bar 3
Eb7
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb3+Db4 Eb3+G3 Eb2
Bar 4
Ab
RAb4+C5+Eb5 Cb4 C5 Eb5 F5 Eb5 C5 Cb4 Ab4
LAb3+Gb4 Ab3+C4 Ab2
Bar 5
Db7
RDb4+F4+Ab4
LDb4+Cb4 Db4+F4 Db3
Bar 6
Bbm
RBb3+Db4+F4
LBb3+Ab4 Bb3+Db4 Bb2
Bar 7
Eb7
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb3+Db4 Eb3+G3 Eb2
Bar 8
Ab
RAb4+C5+Eb5
LAb3+Gb4 Ab3+C4 Ab2

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 Stormy Blues

What are the letter notes for the Stormy Blues 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 Db7 – Bbm – Eb7 – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Stormy Blues?

The loop is Db7 – Bbm – Eb7 – Ab (IV7 – ii – V7 – I) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Stormy Blues in?

Ab major, at about 66 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Stormy Blues?

Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Stormy Blues 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.