Piano chords · Slow dance ’50s
Ball And Chain: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Janis Joplin
- D major
- 12/8
- 90 BPM
- IV7–I7–V7–IV7 loop
- 1968
- Medium
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 Ball And Chain without reading music. The left hand plays slow-dance heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 (12/8)) and the right hand doo-wop chords.
Ball And Chain accompaniment in letter notes
The G7 – D7 – A7 – G7 loop with slow-dance heartbeat in the left hand and doo-wop chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Ball And Chain
What are the letter notes for the Ball And Chain 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 G7 – D7 – A7 – G7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Ball And Chain?
The loop is G7 – D7 – A7 – G7 (IV7 – I7 – V7 – IV7) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is Ball And Chain in?
D major, at about 90 beats a minute in 12/8.
What does the left hand play in Ball And Chain?
Slow-dance heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 (12/8), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Ball And Chain 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.