Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

The Coffee Song: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Bob Hilliard & Dick Miles

  • C major
  • 2/2
  • 160 BPM
  • 1946
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Jazz walkRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

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 Coffee Song without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass) and the right hand steady chords.

The Coffee Song accompaniment in letter notes

The C – C#dim – Dm – Fm loop with jazz walk in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 E3
Bar 2
C#dim
RE4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5
LC#3 D#3 E3 E3
Bar 3
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LD2 E2 F2 F2
Bar 4
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 G4 Ab4 C5 D5 C5 Ab4 Ab4 F4
LF2 G2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 5
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 D3 Eb3 E3
Bar 6
C#dim
RE4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5
LC#3 D#3 E3 E3
Bar 7
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LD2 E2 F2 F2
Bar 8
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF2 G2 Ab2 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 The Coffee Song

What are the letter notes for the The Coffee 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 C – C#dim – Dm – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Coffee Song?

The loop is C – C#dim – Dm – Fm (I – biio – ii – iv) in C major, and the song ends on C – G7 – C.

What key is The Coffee Song in?

C major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in The Coffee Song?

Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Coffee Song 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.