Piano chords · Waltz garden
The Whiffenpoof Song: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Rudy Vallee
- Eb major
- 3/4
- 135 BPM
- I–biio–ii–V7 loop
- 1936
- 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 Whiffenpoof Song without reading music. The left hand plays moon river roll (open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4)) and the right hand sleepy waltz chords.
The Whiffenpoof Song accompaniment in letter notes
The Eb – Edim – Fm – Bb7 loop with moon river roll in the left hand and sleepy waltz 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
Questions about The Whiffenpoof Song
What are the letter notes for the The Whiffenpoof Song 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 Eb – Edim – Fm – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in The Whiffenpoof Song?
The loop is Eb – Edim – Fm – Bb7 (I – biio – ii – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Fm – Bb7 – Eb.
What key is The Whiffenpoof Song in?
Eb major, at about 135 beats a minute in 3/4.
What does the left hand play in The Whiffenpoof Song?
Moon River roll: open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Whiffenpoof Song 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.