Piano chords · Bossa beach
Both Sides Now: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Judy Collins
- A major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1967
- Medium
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 Both Sides Now without reading music. The left hand plays bossa sway (root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&)) and the right hand falling stars.
The intro of Both Sides Now 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.
Both Sides Now accompaniment in letter notes
The A – D – A – D – A – D – A – D loop with bossa sway in the left hand and falling stars 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.
Play next
Questions about Both Sides Now
What are the letter notes for the Both Sides Now 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 A – D – A – D – A – D – A – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Both Sides Now?
The loop is A – D – A – D – A – D – A – D (I – IV – I – IV – I – IV – I – IV) in A major, and the song ends on A – D – A.
What key is Both Sides Now in?
A major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Both Sides Now?
Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Both Sides Now easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 8 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Both Sides Now?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro 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.