Piano chords · Slow dance ’50s
Turtle Blues: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Janis Joplin
- D major
- 12/8
- 135 BPM
- 1968
- 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 Turtle Blues without reading music. The left hand plays jukebox leaps (stride (12/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.
Turtle Blues accompaniment in letter notes
The D – D7 – G – Bb7 loop with jukebox leaps in the left hand. 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 Turtle Blues
What are the letter notes for the Turtle 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 D – D7 – G – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Turtle Blues?
The loop is D – D7 – G – Bb7 (I – I7 – IV – bVI7) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is Turtle Blues in?
D major, at about 135 beats a minute in 12/8.
What does the left hand play in Turtle Blues?
Jukebox leaps: stride (12/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Turtle Blues 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.