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The Christmas Waltz: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Jule Styne

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Lullaby seesawRight hand Sleepy waltz 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 The Christmas Waltz without reading music. The left hand plays lullaby seesaw (root–fifth 1-5-5-5 (3/4)) and the right hand sleepy waltz chords.

The Christmas Waltz accompaniment in letter notes

The D7 – Gm – C7 – F loop with lullaby seesaw in the left hand and sleepy waltz chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D7
RF#4+A4 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 2
Gm
RBb4+D5 Bb4+D5+G5 Bb4+D5+G5
LG2 D3 D3 D3
Bar 3
C7
RE4+G4 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3 G3 G3
Bar 4
F
RA4+C5 F4 A4 C5 F5 A5 C6 F6 A6
LF2 C3 C3 C3
Bar 5
D7
RF#4+A4 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 6
Gm
RBb4+D5 Bb4+D5+G5 Bb4+D5+G5
LG2 D3 D3 D3
Bar 7
C7
RE4+G4 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3 G3 G3
Bar 8
F
RA4+C5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 C3 C3 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.

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Questions about The Christmas Waltz

What are the letter notes for the The Christmas Waltz 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 D7 – Gm – C7 – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Christmas Waltz?

The loop is D7 – Gm – C7 – F (VI7 – ii – V7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on F – Eb – F.

What key is The Christmas Waltz in?

F major, at about 125 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in The Christmas Waltz?

Lullaby seesaw: root–fifth 1-5-5-5 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Christmas Waltz 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 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.