Piano chords · Rock drive
Dark Star: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
- A major
- 2/2
- 120 BPM
- I–bVII–I–bVII loop
- 1971
- Medium
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 Dark Star without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand skipping-stone chords.
Dark Star accompaniment in letter notes
The A – G – A – G loop with power fifths in the left hand and skipping-stone chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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
More by Grateful Dead
Questions about Dark Star
What are the letter notes for the Dark Star 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 A – G – A – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Dark Star?
The loop is A – G – A – G (I – bVII – I – bVII) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is Dark Star in?
A major, at about 120 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Dark Star?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Dark Star 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.