Dancing In The Street: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Marvin Gaye, Ivy Hunter & others

E major
4/4
130 BPM
1964
Medium

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

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 Dancing In The Street without reading music. The left hand plays bouncing alberti (alberti bass 1-8-5-8) and the right hand telegraph taps.

The bass riff of Dancing In The Street in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F#m7 → C#m7RA3+D4+F#4 B3+E4 B3+D4+G#4
LE2 E3 B2 E3

Bar 2
E → C#m7RF#4 E4 C#4 G#3+D4+E4
LE2 E3 B2 E3

Bar 3
E → C#m7RC#4 G#4 E4 C#4
LE2 E3 B2 E3

Bar 4
ERG#3+E4 C#4 G#3+E4 C#4 G#3+E4 E4 B3+G#4
LE2 E3 B2 E3

Dancing In The Street accompaniment in letter notes

The F#m7 – C#m7 – E – C#m7 – E – C#m7 – E loop with bouncing alberti in the left hand and telegraph taps in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F#m7 → C#m7RE5+F#5 F#5 F#5 F#5 C#5 B4+B4
LF#2 F#3 G#3 C#4

Bar 2
E → C#m7RD#5+E5 E5 E5 E5 C#5 B4+B4
LE2 E3 G#3 C#4

Bar 3
E → C#m7RD#5+E5 E5 E5 E5 C#5 B4+B4
LE2 E3 G#3 C#4

Bar 4
ERD#5+E5 E5 E5 E5 C#5 B4 A4 B4 F#5 E5 D#5 E5
LE2 E3 B2 E3

Bar 5
F#m7 → C#m7RE5+F#5 F#5 F#5 F#5 C#5 B4+B4
LF#2 F#3 G#3 C#4

Bar 6
E → C#m7RD#5+E5 E5 E5 E5 C#5 B4+B4
LE2 E3 G#3 C#4

Bar 7
E → C#m7RD#5+E5 E5 E5 E5 C#5 B4+B4
LE2 E3 G#3 C#4

Bar 8
ERD#5+E5 E5 E5 E5 E5 D#5+D#5
LE2 E3 B2 E3

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

The same left hand: Bouncing Alberti

About this pattern

Questions about Dancing In The Street

What are the letter notes for the Dancing In The Street 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#m7 – C#m7 – E – C#m7 – E – C#m7 – E, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Dancing In The Street?

The loop is F#m7 – C#m7 – E – C#m7 – E – C#m7 – E (ii7 – vi7 – I – vi7 – I – vi7 – I) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is Dancing In The Street in?

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

What does the left hand play in Dancing In The Street?

Bouncing Alberti: alberti bass 1-8-5-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Dancing In The Street easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 7 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Dancing In The Street?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the bass riff of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.