Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Lullaby boat

Ain’t No Way: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Aretha Franklin

  • Eb major
  • 6/8
  • 70 BPM
  • 1968
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Cradle pulseRight hand Hammock 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 Ain’t No Way without reading music. The left hand plays cradle pulse (root bass · 1 · 2 · 2.3 (6/8)) and the right hand hammock chords.

Ain’t No Way accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Bb – Bbm – C7 loop with cradle pulse in the left hand and hammock chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2
Bar 2
Bb
RF4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 3
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 4
C7
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 E4 G4 Bb4 C5 E5 G5
LC3 C4 C3
Bar 5
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2
Bar 6
Bb
RF4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 7
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2
Bar 8
C7
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 C4 C3

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 Ain’t No Way

What are the letter notes for the Ain’t No Way 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 – Bb – Bbm – C7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Ain’t No Way?

The loop is Eb – Bb – Bbm – C7 (I – V – v – VI7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ab – Eb.

What key is Ain’t No Way in?

Eb major, at about 70 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in Ain’t No Way?

Cradle pulse: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2.3 (6/8), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Ain’t No Way easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

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