Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

The Sweetest Sounds: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Richard Rodgers

  • F major
  • 2/2
  • 100 BPM
  • 1962
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Toy-soldier marchRight hand Sleigh bellsChords 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 Sweetest Sounds without reading music. The left hand plays toy-soldier march (lh triads (2/4)) and the right hand sleigh bells.

The Sweetest Sounds accompaniment in letter notes

The A7 – Dm – Gm – E7 loop with toy-soldier march in the left hand and sleigh bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A7
RA4 C#4+E4 C#4+E4 A4 C#4+E4 C#4+E4
LA3+C#4 A2 A3+C#4 A2
Bar 2
Dm
RD5 F4+A4 F4+A4 D5 F4+A4 F4+A4
LD3+F3 D2 D3+F3 D2
Bar 3
Gm
RG5 Bb4+D5 Bb4+D5 G5 Bb4+D5 Bb4+D5
LG3+Bb3 G2 G3+Bb3 G2
Bar 4
E7
RE5 G#4+B4 G#4+B4 G#6 E6 D6 B5 G#5 G5 F#5 F5
LE3+G#3 E2 E3+G#3 E2
Bar 5
A7
RA4 C#4+E4 C#4+E4 A4 C#4+E4 C#4+E4
LA3+C#4 A2 A3+C#4 A2
Bar 6
Dm
RD5 F4+A4 F4+A4 D5 F4+A4 F4+A4
LD3+F3 D2 D3+F3 D2
Bar 7
Gm
RG5 Bb4+D5 Bb4+D5 G5 Bb4+D5 Bb4+D5
LG3+Bb3 G2 G3+Bb3 G2
Bar 8
E7
RE5 G#4+B4 G#4+B4 E5 G#4+B4 G#4+B4
LE3+G#3 E2 E3+G#3 E2

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 Sweetest Sounds

What are the letter notes for the The Sweetest Sounds 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 A7 – Dm – Gm – E7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Sweetest Sounds?

The loop is A7 – Dm – Gm – E7 (III7 – vi – ii – VII7) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is The Sweetest Sounds in?

F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in The Sweetest Sounds?

Toy-soldier march: lh triads (2/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Sweetest Sounds 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.