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100 Years: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Five For Fighting

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 2004
  • Easy
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Left hand Island pulseRight hand Offbeat skankChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 100 Years without reading music. The left hand plays island pulse (root bass · tresillo 3-3-2) and the right hand offbeat skank.

The main tune of 100 Years 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
D7 → Em7
RA4 B4 B4 F#4+D5 G4+E5
LD3 A3 D4 C3+G3
Bar 2
Em → D
RD4+F#4+B4 A4 G4 G3+D4+G4
LE3+B3 D2+D3 C2+G2+E3
Bar 3
D
RD4 D4
Lrest
Bar 4
D → Bm7
RA4 A4 A4 B4 A4
Lrest

100 Years accompaniment in letter notes

The D7 – Em7 – Em – D – D – D – Bm7 loop with island pulse in the left hand and offbeat skank in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D7 → Em7
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LD2 D2 E2
Bar 2
Em → D
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LE2 E2 D2
Bar 3
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 4
D → Bm7
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 C4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C5
LD2 D2 B2
Bar 5
D7 → Em7
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LD2 D2 E2
Bar 6
Em → D
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LE2 E2 D2
Bar 7
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 8
D → Bm7
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 D4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4
LD2 D2 B2

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 100 Years

What are the letter notes for the 100 Years 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 D7 – Em7 – Em – D – D – D – Bm7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in 100 Years?

The loop is D7 – Em7 – Em – D – D – D – Bm7 (V7 – vi7 – vi – V – iii7 – V7 – vi7) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is 100 Years in?

G major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in 100 Years?

Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is 100 Years easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 7 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of 100 Years?

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

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.