Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Blackbird: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By The Beatles

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1968
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Soft chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Blackbird without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand soft chords.

The main tune of Blackbird 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
Bb → Cm7 → Eb
RF3 Bb3 Eb4 G3 C4 F4
LBb1 F2 C3 F2 Bb1 C2+G2 Eb2+Bb2
Bar 2
F → C
RD4+G4+C5 C4+D4+G4 C4+D4+G4
LF2 C3 G3 C3 E2 C3 G3 G3
Bar 3
Bb → Cm7 → Ebmaj7
RF3 Bb3 Eb4 G4 F4 D4
LBb1 F2 C3 F2 Bb1 C2+G2 Eb2+Bb2
Bar 4
D7
RF4 D4 D4 C4 B3
LD3+F#3+C4

Blackbird accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – Cm7 – Eb – F – C – Bb – Cm7 – Ebmaj7 – D7 loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb → Cm7 → Eb
RF4+Bb4+D5 G4+C5+Eb5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 C3 C3 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 2
F → C
RC5+F5+A5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LF2 F2 F2 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 3
Bb → Cm7 → Ebmaj7
RF4+Bb4+D5 G4+C5+Eb5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 C3 C3 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 4
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A6 F#6 D6 C6 A5 G#5 G5 F#5
LD2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 5
Bb → Cm7 → Eb
RF4+Bb4+D5 G4+C5+Eb5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 C3 C3 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 6
F → C
RC5+F5+A5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LF2 F2 F2 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 7
Bb → Cm7 → Ebmaj7
RF4+Bb4+D5 G4+C5+Eb5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 C3 C3 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 8
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2

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 Blackbird

What are the letter notes for the Blackbird 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 Bb – Cm7 – Eb – F – C – Bb – Cm7 – Ebmaj7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Blackbird?

The loop is Bb – Cm7 – Eb – F – C – Bb – Cm7 – Ebmaj7 – D7 (bIII – iv7 – bVI – bVII – IV – bIII – iv7 – bVImaj7 – V7) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is Blackbird in?

G major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Blackbird?

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

Is Blackbird easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 9 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Blackbird?

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

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.