Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Always: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Jason Ingram & Kristian Stanfill

  • C major
  • 4/4
  • 66 BPM
  • 2011
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Learn it
Style

Left hand Tick-tick-boom pulseRight hand Pumping chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Always without reading music. The left hand plays tick-tick-boom pulse (root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4) and the right hand pumping chords.

The catchy part of Always 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
Am7 → G → C
RE4+G4+C5 G4+B4+D5 G4+C5+E5 C5
LA1 B1 C2 C3
Bar 2
F → C
RA4+C5+F5 G4+E5 F4+D5 G4+C5+E5 C5
LC2 C3
Bar 3
C
RG4+C5+F5 E5 D5 G4+C5+E5 C5 D5 G4+B4+D5
LC2 C3
Bar 4
G
RB4 C5 E4+G4+C5
LG1 G2

Always accompaniment in letter notes

The Am7 – G – C – F – C – C – G loop with tick-tick-boom pulse in the left hand and pumping chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am7 → G → C
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LA2 A2 G3 C3 C3 C4
Bar 2
F → C
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LF2 F2 F3 C3 C3 C4
Bar 3
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 C3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 4
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5
LG2 G2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 5
Am7 → G → C
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LA2 A2 G3 C3 C3 C4
Bar 6
F → C
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LF2 F2 F3 C3 C3 C4
Bar 7
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 C3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 8
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 G2 G3 G2 G2 G3

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.

Play next

Questions about Always

What are the letter notes for the Always 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 Am7 – G – C – F – C – C – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Always?

The loop is Am7 – G – C – F – C – C – G (vi7 – V – I – IV – I – V – vi7) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Always in?

C major, at about 66 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Always?

Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Always easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 7 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Always?

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

Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.