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Bad Things: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Jace Everett

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Left hand Little stepsRight hand Starlight twinkleChords 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 Bad Things without reading music. The left hand plays little steps (broken chord 1-3-5-3) and the right hand starlight twinkle.

Bad Things accompaniment in letter notes

The Em – B – Em – B loop with little steps in the left hand and starlight twinkle in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Em
RB4+G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5
LE2 G2 B2 G2
Bar 2
B
RF#4+D#5 B4 D#5 B4 D#5 B4 D#5 B4
LB2 D#3 F#3 D#3
Bar 3
Em
RB4+G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5
LE2 G2 B2 G2
Bar 4
B
RF#4+D#5 B4 D#5 B4 C5 B4 A4 B4 E5 D#5 C5 D#5
LB2 D#3 F#3 D#3
Bar 5
Em
RB4+G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5
LE2 G2 B2 G2
Bar 6
B
RF#4+D#5 B4 D#5 B4 D#5 B4 D#5 B4
LB2 D#3 F#3 D#3
Bar 7
Em
RB4+G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5 G5 E5
LE2 G2 B2 G2
Bar 8
B
RF#4+D#5 B4 D#5 B4 D#5 B4 D#5 B4
LB2 D#3 F#3 D#3

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 Bad Things

What are the letter notes for the Bad Things 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 Em – B – Em – B, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Bad Things?

The loop is Em – B – Em – B (i – V – i – V) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.

What key is Bad Things in?

E minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Bad Things?

Little steps: broken chord 1-3-5-3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Bad Things 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.