Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Can’t Think Straight: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Gilbert O’Sullivan

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Clockwork chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Can’t Think Straight without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand clockwork chords.

Can’t Think Straight accompaniment in letter notes

The F – F7 – Bb – Bbm loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and clockwork chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 2
F7
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 3
Bb
RF4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 4
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 E4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5 E5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 5
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 6
F7
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 7
Bb
RF4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 8
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2

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 Can’t Think Straight

What are the letter notes for the Can’t Think Straight 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 F – F7 – Bb – Bbm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Can’t Think Straight?

The loop is F – F7 – Bb – Bbm (I – I7 – IV – iv) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Can’t Think Straight in?

F major, at about 77 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Can’t Think Straight?

Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Can’t Think Straight 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.