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The Christmas Song: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Mel Torme

  • Eb major
  • 2/2
  • 80 BPM
  • 1946
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Lazy footstepsRight hand Steady chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 The Christmas Song without reading music. The left hand plays lazy footsteps (root bass · 1 · 3 · 4) and the right hand steady chords.

The intro of The Christmas Song 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.

Bar 1
Eb → Bb7
RG3+C4+Eb4 G4+C5+Eb5 D4+Bb4+D5 Ab4+C5 G4+Bb4 F4+Ab4
LEb2+Bb2 Bb1+Bb2
Bar 2
Cm7 → Ab → Abm
RBb3+Eb4+G4 Eb4+G4+C5 C4+G4+Bb4 F4+Ab4 Cb3+Eb4+G4 F4
LC2+C3 Bb1+Bb2 Ab1+Ab2
Bar 3
Eb → Bdim → Cm
RBb3+Eb4+G4 G#3+D4+F4 G3+C4+Eb4
LBb1+Bb2 Bb2 B2 C3
Bar 4
Fm7 → Bb7
RAb3+C4+Eb4+G4 D4 Ab3+Cb3+D4 G4
LF2 Bb1+Bb2

The Christmas Song accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Bb7 – Cm7 – Ab – Abm – Eb – Bdim – Cm – Fm7 – Bb7 loop with lazy footsteps in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb → Bb7
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LEb2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 2
Cm7 → Ab → Abm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 Cb4+Eb5+Ab5
LC3 Ab3 Ab2
Bar 3
Eb → Bdim → Cm
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 D4+F4+B4 Eb4+G4+C5
LEb2 B3 C3
Bar 4
Fm7 → Bb7
RAb4+C5+F5 Ab4+C5+F5 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 D5
LF2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 5
Eb → Bb7
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LEb2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 6
Cm7 → Ab → Abm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 Cb4+Eb5+Ab5
LC3 Ab3 Ab2
Bar 7
Eb → Bdim → Cm
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 D4+F4+B4 Eb4+G4+C5
LEb2 B3 C3
Bar 8
Fm7 → Bb7
RAb4+C5+F5 Ab4+C5+F5 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LF2 Bb3 Bb2

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 The Christmas Song

What are the letter notes for the The Christmas Song 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 Eb – Bb7 – Cm7 – Ab – Abm – Eb – Bdim – Cm – Fm7 – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Christmas Song?

The loop is Eb – Bb7 – Cm7 – Ab – Abm – Eb – Bdim – Cm – Fm7 – Bb7 (I – V7 – vi7 – IV – iv – I – bvi° – vi – ii7 – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Fm – Bb7 – Eb.

What key is The Christmas Song in?

Eb major, at about 80 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in The Christmas Song?

Lazy footsteps: root bass · 1 · 3 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Christmas Song easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 10 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of The Christmas Song?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 14 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.