Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Cortez The Killer: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Neil Young

  • E minor
  • 4/4
  • 112 BPM
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Eager 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 Cortez The Killer without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand eager chords.

Cortez The Killer accompaniment in letter notes

The Em – D – Am – Em loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and eager chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Em
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5
LE2 E2 E2
Bar 2
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 3
Am
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2
Bar 4
Em
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5
LE2 E2 E2
Bar 5
Em
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5
LE2 E2 E2
Bar 6
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 7
Am
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2
Bar 8
Em
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5
LE2 E2 E2

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 Cortez The Killer

What are the letter notes for the Cortez The Killer 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 – D – Am – Em, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Cortez The Killer?

The loop is Em – D – Am – Em (i – bVII – iv – i) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.

What key is Cortez The Killer in?

E minor, at about 112 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Cortez The Killer?

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 Cortez The Killer 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.