Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

The Night Before Christmas: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Marty Panzer

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Seesaw bassRight hand Offbeat skankChords 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 Night Before Christmas without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5) and the right hand offbeat skank.

The Night Before Christmas accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb7 – Eb – Ab – Bb7 loop with seesaw bass in the left hand and offbeat skank in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb2 F3
Bar 2
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 Eb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3 Ab2 Eb3
Bar 4
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 Db5 D5 F5 G5 F5 D5 Db5 Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb2 F3
Bar 5
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb2 F3
Bar 6
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 Eb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3 Ab2 Eb3
Bar 8
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb2 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 Night Before Christmas

What are the letter notes for the The Night Before Christmas 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 Bb7 – Eb – Ab – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Night Before Christmas?

The loop is Bb7 – Eb – Ab – Bb7 (V7 – I – IV – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is The Night Before Christmas in?

Eb major, at about 99 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in The Night Before Christmas?

Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Night Before Christmas 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.