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Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

City: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Sara Bareilles

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Skipping-stone pulseRight hand Pop stabsChords 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 City without reading music. The left hand plays skipping-stone pulse (root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&) and the right hand pop stabs.

City accompaniment in letter notes

The Em – C – Dsus4 – D loop with skipping-stone pulse in the left hand and pop stabs in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Em
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2
Bar 2
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 3
Dsus4
RG4+A4+D5 G4+A4+D5 G4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 4
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 5
Em
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2
Bar 6
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 7
Dsus4
RG4+A4+D5 G4+A4+D5 G4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 8
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D2

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 City

What are the letter notes for the City 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 Em – C – Dsus4 – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in City?

The loop is Em – C – Dsus4 – D (vi – IV – Vsus – V) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is City in?

G major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in City?

Skipping-stone pulse: root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is City easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.