Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

We Need A Little Christmas: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Jerry Herman

  • G major
  • 2/2
  • 160 BPM
  • 1966
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Rolling wavesRight hand Push-and-land chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 We Need A Little Christmas without reading music. The left hand plays rolling waves (open arpeggio 1-5-10-5) and the right hand push-and-land chords.

The intro of We Need A Little Christmas in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A7
RC#4+G4+A4 B4 C#5 B4
LA2+E3
Bar 2
A7
RA4 G4 F#4 F#4 E4
Lrest
Bar 3
D7
RC4+F#4 G4 A4 G4
LD3
Bar 4
D7
RF#4 E4 D4 D4 C4
LD2 E2 F#2

We Need A Little Christmas accompaniment in letter notes

The A7 – A7 – D7 – D7 loop with rolling waves in the left hand and push-and-land chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A7
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 E3 C#4 E3
Bar 2
A7
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 E3 C#4 E3
Bar 3
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 A2 F#3 A2
Bar 4
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 F#4 A4 C5 D5 F#5 A5 C6 D6
LD2 A2 F#3 A2
Bar 5
A7
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 E3 C#4 E3
Bar 6
A7
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 E3 C#4 E3
Bar 7
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 A2 F#3 A2
Bar 8
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 A2 F#3 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 We Need A Little Christmas

What are the letter notes for the We Need A Little Christmas 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 A7 – A7 – D7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in We Need A Little Christmas?

The loop is A7 – A7 – D7 – D7 (II7 – V7 – II7 – V7) in G major, and the song ends on Am – D7 – G.

What key is We Need A Little Christmas in?

G major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in We Need A Little Christmas?

Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is We Need A Little Christmas 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.

Can I hear the real melody of We Need A Little Christmas?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.