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Breaking Free: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron

  • C minor
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 2005
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Late-hop footstepsRight hand Running-late chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Breaking Free without reading music. The left hand plays late-hop footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4) and the right hand running-late chords.

Breaking Free accompaniment in letter notes

The Cm – F – Ab – Eb loop with late-hop footsteps in the left hand and running-late chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Cm
RG4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5
LC3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 2
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 3
Ab
REb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6
LAb2 Ab3 Ab2 Ab2 Ab3
Bar 4
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 D5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb2 Eb3
Bar 5
Cm
RG4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5 G4+C5+Eb5
LC3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 6
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 7
Ab
REb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6 Eb5+Ab5+C6
LAb2 Ab3 Ab2 Ab2 Ab3
Bar 8
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb2 Eb3

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 Breaking Free

What are the letter notes for the Breaking Free 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 Cm – F – Ab – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Breaking Free?

The loop is Cm – F – Ab – Eb (i – IV – bVI – bIII) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.

What key is Breaking Free in?

C minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Breaking Free?

Late-hop footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Breaking Free 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.