Piano chords · Rock drive
Breakdown: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Chris Daughtry
- F minor
- 4/4
- 77 BPM
- 2006
- 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 Breakdown without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand steady chords.
The catchy part of Breakdown 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.
Breakdown accompaniment in letter notes
The Fm – Eb – Db – Eb – Fm – Eb – Db – Eb loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and steady 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 Breakdown
What are the letter notes for the Breakdown 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 Fm – Eb – Db – Eb – Fm – Eb – Db – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Breakdown?
The loop is Fm – Eb – Db – Eb – Fm – Eb – Db – Eb (i – VII – VI – VII – i – VII – VI – VII) in F minor, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Fm.
What key is Breakdown in?
F minor, at about 77 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Breakdown?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Breakdown 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 Breakdown?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the catchy part of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.