Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Desert Song: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Natalie Grant

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Rock hopRight hand Double island 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 Desert Song without reading music. The left hand plays rock hop (root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4) and the right hand double island chords.

Desert Song accompaniment in letter notes

The Cm – Bb – Ab – Eb loop with rock hop in the left hand and double island chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Cm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5
LC3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 2
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 3
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab3 Ab2 Ab2 Ab3
Bar 4
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 Bb6 G6 Eb6 Bb5 G5 Gb5 F5 Fb5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb2 Eb3
Bar 5
Cm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5
LC3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 6
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 7
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab3 Ab2 Ab2 Ab3
Bar 8
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb2 Eb3

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 Desert Song

What are the letter notes for the Desert Song 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 Cm – Bb – Ab – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Desert Song?

The loop is Cm – Bb – Ab – Eb (vi – V – IV – I) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is Desert Song in?

Eb major, at about 112 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Desert Song?

Rock hop: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Desert Song 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.