Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Day by Day: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Stephen Schwartz

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 90 BPM
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Rolling wavesThe right hand sings the tuneChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Day by Day without reading music. The left hand plays rolling waves (open arpeggio 1-5-10-5), and the right hand sings the tune.

The catchy part of Day by Day 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
Am7
RB4 C4+E4 A4 B3+C4+E4 A3
LA2+G3 A1 E2
Bar 2
Am7
RE3 B3+D4+F#4 C4+E4+G4 F#4+A4
LA2 A1
Bar 3
Am7
RC4+E4+B4 B4 B4 A4
LA2+G3 E2
Bar 4
Am7 → D7
RG3+C4+E4 E3 F#3 C4+D4+F#4
LA2 D2

Day by Day accompaniment in letter notes

The Am7 – Am7 – Am7 – Am7 – D7 loop with rolling waves in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am7
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 2
Am7
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 3
Am7
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 4
Am7 → D7
RA3+C4+E4 F#4 A4 C5 D5 F#5 A5 C6 D6
LA2 E3 F#3 A2
Bar 5
Am7
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 6
Am7
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 7
Am7
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 8
Am7 → D7
RA3+C4+E4 D4+F#4+A4
LA2 E3 F#3 A2

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 Day by Day

What are the letter notes for the Day by Day 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 Am7 – Am7 – Am7 – Am7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Day by Day?

The loop is Am7 – Am7 – Am7 – Am7 – D7 (ii7 – V7 – ii7 – V7) in G major, and the song ends on G – C – G.

What key is Day by Day in?

G major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Day by Day?

Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Day by Day easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Day by Day?

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

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.