Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Alabama Getaway: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Grateful Dead

  • A major
  • 4/4
  • 140 BPM
  • 1980
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Ticking clockChords 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 Alabama Getaway without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand ticking clock.

Alabama Getaway accompaniment in letter notes

The E – D – C – A loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
E
RE4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 2
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 3
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 4
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A6 E6 C#6 A5 G#5 G5 F#5 F5
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 5
E
RE4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 6
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 7
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 8
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2

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 Alabama Getaway

What are the letter notes for the Alabama Getaway 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 E – D – C – A, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Alabama Getaway?

The loop is E – D – C – A (V – IV – bIII5 – I) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Alabama Getaway in?

A major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Alabama Getaway?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Alabama Getaway 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.