Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Cleveland Rocks: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Ian Hunter

  • Ab major
  • 4/4
  • 130 BPM
  • 1979
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Learn it
Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Pausing 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 Cleveland Rocks without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand pausing chords.

Cleveland Rocks accompaniment in letter notes

The Fb – Db – Ab – C loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and pausing chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Fb
RAb4+Cb4+Fb5 Ab4+Cb4+Fb5 Ab4+Cb4+Fb5
LFb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2
Bar 2
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3
Bar 3
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 4
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 C7 G6 E6 C6 Ab5 G5 F#5 F5
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 5
Fb
RAb4+Cb4+Fb5 Ab4+Cb4+Fb5 Ab4+Cb4+Fb5
LFb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2 Fb2
Bar 6
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3
Bar 7
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 8
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3

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.

Play next

Questions about Cleveland Rocks

What are the letter notes for the Cleveland Rocks 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 Fb – Db – Ab – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Cleveland Rocks?

The loop is Fb – Db – Ab – C (bVI – IV – I – III) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Cleveland Rocks in?

Ab major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Cleveland Rocks?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Cleveland Rocks 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.