Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Travelin’ Man: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Ricky Nelson

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Yo-yo bounceRight hand Double-clap chordsChords 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 Travelin’ Man without reading music. The left hand plays yo-yo bounce (broken chord 8-5-8) and the right hand double-clap chords.

Travelin’ Man accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Cm – Eb – Cm loop with yo-yo bounce in the left hand and double-clap chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3 Bb2 Eb3
Bar 2
Cm
RG4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5
LC4 G3 C4
Bar 3
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3 Bb2 Eb3
Bar 4
Cm
RG4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4 C5 Eb5 G5 C6 Eb6 G6 C7
LC4 G3 C4
Bar 5
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3 Bb2 Eb3
Bar 6
Cm
RG4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5
LC4 G3 C4
Bar 7
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3 Bb2 Eb3
Bar 8
Cm
RG4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5
LC4 G3 C4

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 Travelin’ Man

What are the letter notes for the Travelin’ Man 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 – Cm – Eb – Cm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Travelin’ Man?

The loop is Eb – Cm – Eb – Cm (I – vi – I – vi) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Cm – Eb.

What key is Travelin’ Man in?

Eb major, at about 130 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Travelin’ Man?

Yo-yo bounce: broken chord 8-5-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Travelin’ Man 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.