Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

Yardbird Suite: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Charlie Parker

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Stride jumpsRight hand Push chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Yardbird Suite without reading music. The left hand plays stride jumps (stride) and the right hand push chords.

Yardbird Suite accompaniment in letter notes

The C – Db – C – Db loop with stride jumps in the left hand and push chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3+E4 C3
Bar 2
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3+F4 Db3
Bar 3
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3+E4 C3
Bar 4
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 Db7 Ab6 F6 Db6 Ab5 G5 Gb5 F5
LDb3 Ab3+F4 Db3
Bar 5
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3+E4 C3
Bar 6
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3+F4 Db3
Bar 7
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 G3+E4 C3
Bar 8
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3+F4 Db3

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 Yardbird Suite

What are the letter notes for the Yardbird Suite 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 C – Db – C – Db, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Yardbird Suite?

The loop is C – Db – C – Db (I – bII – I – bII) in C major, and the song ends on Dm – G7 – C.

What key is Yardbird Suite in?

C major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Yardbird Suite?

Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Yardbird Suite 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.