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Where's Poppa: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Norman Gimbel

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Walking rootsRight hand Steady 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 Where's Poppa without reading music. The left hand plays walking roots (root bass · quarters) and the right hand steady chords.

Where's Poppa accompaniment in letter notes

The Dm – G7 – Cm – F7 loop with walking roots in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Dm
RF4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D3 D3
Bar 2
G7
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G3 G3
Bar 3
Cm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C4 C4
Bar 4
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 Eb4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5 Eb5
LF2 F2 F3 F3
Bar 5
Dm
RF4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5 F4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D3 D3
Bar 6
G7
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G3 G3
Bar 7
Cm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C4 C4
Bar 8
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3 F3

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 Where's Poppa

What are the letter notes for the Where's Poppa 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 Dm – G7 – Cm – F7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Where's Poppa?

The loop is Dm – G7 – Cm – F7 (iii – VI7 – ii – V7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is Where's Poppa in?

Bb major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Where's Poppa?

Walking roots: root bass · quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Where's Poppa 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.