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West End Blues: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Joe Oliver & Clarence Williams

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Left hand Freeze-tag footstepsThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 West End Blues without reading music. The left hand plays freeze-tag footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 2&), and the right hand sings the tune.

West End Blues accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Bb7 – Eb – Bb7 loop with freeze-tag footsteps in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 2
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 4
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 D5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 5
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 6
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 8
Bb7
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2

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 West End Blues

What are the letter notes for the West End 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 Eb – Bb7 – Eb – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in West End Blues?

The loop is Eb – Bb7 – Eb – Bb7 (I – V7 – I – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is West End Blues in?

Eb major, at about 88 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in West End Blues?

Freeze-tag footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is West End Blues 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.