Main Chord Progression D
Dont get discouraged yet. The song structure of this Lynyrd Skynyrd classic may be long, but youll see that everything involves just three chords. Only three chords?! Thats right! Lynyrd Skynyrd uses a very basic chord progression, and by doing so the band creates a lot of room for improvisation. Check out the chord sequence below.
- Figure 2: Main chord sequence.
So, for the intro, all interludes, all verses and all solos, you need just these three chords. In the chorus part, something interesting happens: The band extends the harmonic aspect of the chord progression. How? Just read on and well tell you. Heres a heads-up though: From here on were splitting the article up in two parts. The first focuses on beginners, the second is for advanced pianists.
Learn How To Sound Like This
Welcome to the advanced level for piano of the Sweet Home Alabama. Here, were going to expand our chord voicings by playing bass notes in the low octave in the left hand. By doing this, well always have a root note in the bass, which is very helpful for hearing a clear harmony. Especially if you play inversions in your right hand.
Fun Facts About Sweet Home Alabama
Lets make one thing very clear: Lynyrd Skynyrd is not from Alabama. Ed King, Gary Rossington, Ronnie van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns are originally from Jacksonville, Florida. Well, actually Ed King was from California, but still, thats not Alabama. Yeah, mind blowing, right? We know. The song itself came into existence when guitarist Rossington was playing the intro riff while waiting for his bandmates to come to rehearsal. Ronnie van Zant couldnt get enough and wrote the lyrics in a blink of an eye.
Theres a lot of speculation going on about the lyrics of Sweet Home Alabama. For example, Van Zant writes about Watergate, and the governor of Birmingham. Check out the third verse below.
In Birmingham, they love the governor Now we all did what we could doNow Watergate does not bother meDoes your conscience bother you?Tell the truth
The governor to which the band refers is George Wallace, who was pro segregation. Some, those who dont pick up the backing vocals singing Boo, boo, boo!, interpret the lyrics as racist. Although, in multiple interviews Van Zant has assured his audience that this was not the case. He often pointed out that the lyrics are meant to be interpreted as the voice of the Southern man, as an individual saying to the rest of America that he does not want to be judged by the actions of one man like Wallace.
Happy jamming!
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Responses To Lynyrd Skynyrd Sweet Home Alabama Piano Solo With Sheet Music
I literally just discovered this site today when I searched for Billie Powells solo on Call Me the Breeze. All I know to say is thanks. This is one if the most accurate transcriptions I have ever seen on both SHA and Call Me the Breeze. You are truly unbelievable. I wish there was a way for you to market and sell this If you wanted to..there is a market for really good transcriptions of great songs. They are so hard to find. I would pay good money for a piece I wanted if I knew the source was going to be as accurate as yours are.
Adam said this on | Reply
It sounds like you really have the heart of a teacher..I also remember so many times getting piano books and getting home with them in such anticipation to sound just like Jerry Lee or Ray Charles and be so disappointed with what I was reading on the sheet music.. Total waste of time and effort. I will be checking back regularly just to see what youve added to the site..once again, truly grateful for what youre doing.
Adam
Just echoing Adams comments accurate transcriptions are truly golden, thank you for the effort you put into this!
Jason
I need to play this 2 weeks from now. Was trying to figure out the solo note by note by just listeningyou saved me hours of work! Thanks!
Cindy
Transpose / Free Music Notes
Michael Buble Its a Wonderful Dayfreethe viewertranspositionscoresprior to making your online purchaseOriginal, 1 Semitione, 2 Semitnoes, 3 Semitones, -1 Semitone, -2 Semitones, -3 Semitonesprintsave as PDF.Quick Fact About Us
We provide most popular sheets at affordable prices. You will also find various tutorials and covers of the songs for faster and easier learning.VAT Free zone & No Shipping Costs!
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The Lyrics Of Sweet Home Alabama:
Big wheels keep on turning Carry me home to see my kin Singing songs about the Southland I miss Alabamy once again And I think its a sin, yes
Well I heard mister Young sing about her Well, I heard ole Neil put her down Well, I hope Neil Young will remember A Southern man dont need him around anyhow
Sweet home Alabama Where the skies are so blue Sweet Home Alabama Lord, Im coming home to you
In Birmingham they love the gov nor Now we all did what we could do Now Watergate does not bother me Does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth
Where the skies are so blue Sweet Home Alabama Lord, Im coming home to you Here I come Alabama
Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers And theyve been known to pick a song or two Lord they get me off so much They pick me up when Im feeling blue Now how about you?
Where the skies are so blue Sweet Home Alabama Lord, Im coming home to you
Sweet home Alabama Where the skies are so blue And the guvnors true
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Sweet Home Alabama For Piano
This blog post is dedicated to explaining all the ins and outs of Lynyrd Skynyrds Sweet Home Alabama for piano. Use the table of contents to select your skill level well guide you to the part of this blog post that focuses on your preference. As always, weve got the chords, the lyrics and everything else that will help you master Sweet Home Alabama in no time.
After explaining the practical part of how to play the song, well dive deeper into the theoretical matter. At the very end, weve also listed some anecdotes concerning this track. This way you can keep the conversation going during awkward Zoom parties by sharing some fun facts about the triple Boo, and what the band means by the following line: Does your conscience bother you? Enjoy!
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Lynyrd Skynyrd Sweet Home Alabama Piano Solo With Sheet Music
Theres a killer piano solo near the end of Lynyrd Skynyrds Sweet Home Alabama. It was played by the terrific Billy Powell.
Heres the PDFSHA solo sheet music
Heres the solo at speed
And heres a slowed down video that follows the sheet musicwoof
Enjoy and let me know if you like it Thanks!
PS Ive picked off another killer Billy Powell solo, , and you might also like the guitar solo from Freebird.
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Chorus Chords And Tabs
Now its time to look at the sequence of the chorus. If you remember, this is the only part where the chord progression is a bit different than the rest of the song. Its still based on the original chord sequence, but it has different variations at the end.
- Figure 16: Piano D chord, C chord, G chord, C chord, F chord, C/E chord.
As you can see, the chorus contains an F chord as an extension to our three-chord progression. For the G and the F chord, we use the second inversion. For the C chord, we also use the first inversion. All these inversions help create a smooth flow of voicings.
Here is the chord progression for the chorus:
- Figure 17: Piano chorus.
Take a closer look at the end of the first and third line. The C/E chord comes at the end of the bar as a syncopated accent. To help you play this syncopated C at the right moment, weve put a metric pulse below. For the fourth beat weve added the word Fourty instead of Four. Its not a typo! This syllable, -ty, will help you to time the C/E correctly.
Here is the example of how we can play these parts on piano:
- Figure 18: Piano example of chord progression.
Its interesting to mention one thing about every second bar of each line: In the right hand we keep playing the inversions G/D, C/E and F/C, while in the left hand we play the root notes for these chords: G, C, F. Therefore, all these chords are in fact a G, a C and an F. Cool huh?
