Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

China Grove: piano accompaniment sheet music

Written by Tom Johnston

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Learn it
Style

Left hand Giant stepsRight hand Ticking clockChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

China Grove written out as piano music: the I – bVII – IV – I loop in E major for both hands, with chord names and finger numbers. Press play and follow the cursor. The left hand plays giant steps (lh chords) and the right hand ticking clock.

China Grove chord chart

The loop once round, bar by bar, in E major. The roman numeral says the chord's place in the key, so the same chart works in any key.

BarChordNumeralNotes
1EIE G# B
2DbVIID F# A
3AIVA C# E
4EIE G# B

What the sheet music shows

The grand staff: the right hand on the treble staff, the left hand on the bass staff, with the chord names above and a finger number on each note (1 is the thumb). It is the accompaniment: giant steps (lh chords) in the left hand and ticking clock in the right, over the E – D – A – E chords.

Press play and a cursor follows the music. Above it, Colours paints each note in its key’s colour and Note names writes its letter on its head.

Play next

Questions about China Grove

Does the sheet music for China Grove have finger numbers?

Yes: every note of both hands has its finger number, 1 being the thumb. To read the notes alone, turn Fingers off above the music.

What chords are in China Grove?

The loop is E – D – A – E (I – bVII – IV – I) in E major, and the song ends on D – A – E.

What key is China Grove in?

E major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in China Grove?

Giant steps: lh chords, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is China Grove 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.