Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Three Little Birds: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Bob Marley

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Boogie walkerRight hand Ticking clockChords 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 Three Little Birds without reading music. The left hand plays boogie walker (boogie-woogie line) and the right hand ticking clock.

Three Little Birds accompaniment in letter notes

The A – D – G – D loop with boogie walker in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3
LA2 E3 G3 E3 F#3 E3 C#3 E3
Bar 2
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 C3 A2 B2 A2 F#2 A2
Bar 3
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 D3 F3 D3 E3 D3 B2 D3
Bar 4
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 F5 F#5 A5 B5 A5 F#5 F5 D5
LD2 A2 C3 A2 B2 A2 F#2 A2
Bar 5
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3
LA2 E3 G3 E3 F#3 E3 C#3 E3
Bar 6
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 C3 A2 B2 A2 F#2 A2
Bar 7
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 D3 F3 D3 E3 D3 B2 D3
Bar 8
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 C3 A2 B2 A2 F#2 A2

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 Three Little Birds

What are the letter notes for the Three Little Birds 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 A – D – G – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Three Little Birds?

The loop is A – D – G – D (I – IV – bVII – IV) in A major, and the song ends on G – D – A.

What key is Three Little Birds in?

A major, at about 74 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Three Little Birds?

Boogie walker: boogie-woogie line, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Three Little Birds 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.