Piano chords · Old-time stride
The Entertainer: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Scott Joplin
- C major
- 2/4
- 70 BPM
- Medium
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 Entertainer without reading music. The left hand plays ragtime bounce (boom-chick (2/4)) and the right hand marching chords.
The main tune of The Entertainer 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.
The Entertainer accompaniment in letter notes
The C – F – G7 – C loop with ragtime bounce in the left hand and marching chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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.
Play next
The same left hand: Ragtime bounce
Questions about The Entertainer
What are the letter notes for the The Entertainer 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 – F – G7 – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in The Entertainer?
The loop is C – F – G7 – C (I – IV – V7 – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is The Entertainer in?
C major, at about 70 beats a minute in 2/4.
What does the left hand play in The Entertainer?
Ragtime bounce: boom-chick (2/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Entertainer 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.
Can I hear the real melody of The Entertainer?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.