Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
The Swingin' Shepherd Blues: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Moe Koffman
- Bb major
- 4/4
- 140 BPM
- 1958
- Easy
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 Swingin' Shepherd Blues without reading music. The left hand plays happy wiggle (broken chord 1-5-6-5) and the right hand hopscotch chords.
The Swingin' Shepherd Blues accompaniment in letter notes
The Bb – Bb7 – Eb – Gb7 loop with happy wiggle in the left hand and hopscotch 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.
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Questions about The Swingin' Shepherd Blues
What are the letter notes for the The Swingin' Shepherd Blues 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 Bb – Bb7 – Eb – Gb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in The Swingin' Shepherd Blues?
The loop is Bb – Bb7 – Eb – Gb7 (I – I7 – IV – bVI7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.
What key is The Swingin' Shepherd Blues in?
Bb major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in The Swingin' Shepherd Blues?
Happy wiggle: broken chord 1-5-6-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Swingin' Shepherd Blues 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.