Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

The Continental: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Brent Edstrom

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Velvet jazzRight hand Heartbeat 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 Continental without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand heartbeat chords.

The Continental accompaniment in letter notes

The Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Fm loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and heartbeat chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Fm
RC5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5
LAb2+Eb3 Ab2+F3 Ab2+Eb3 Ab2+F3
Bar 2
Bb7
RF4+Ab4+Bb4+D5 F4+Ab4+Bb4+D5 F4+Ab4+Bb4+D5
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 3
Eb
RBb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 4
Fm
RC5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 G4 Ab4 C5 D5 C5 Ab4 Ab4 F4
LAb2+Eb3 Ab2+F3 Ab2+Eb3 Ab2+F3
Bar 5
Fm
RC5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5
LAb2+Eb3 Ab2+F3 Ab2+Eb3 Ab2+F3
Bar 6
Bb7
RF4+Ab4+Bb4+D5 F4+Ab4+Bb4+D5 F4+Ab4+Bb4+D5
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 7
Eb
RBb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Db5+Eb5+G5
LG2+Db3 G2+Eb3 G2+Db3 G2+Eb3
Bar 8
Fm
RC5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+F5+Ab5
LAb2+Eb3 Ab2+F3 Ab2+Eb3 Ab2+F3

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 Continental

What are the letter notes for the The Continental 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 Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Continental?

The loop is Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Fm (ii – V7 – I – ii) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ab7 – Eb.

What key is The Continental in?

Eb major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in The Continental?

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 The Continental 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.