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Don't Be That Way: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Benny Goodman

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Walking rootsRight hand Skipping-stone 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 Don't Be That Way without reading music. The left hand plays walking roots (root bass · quarters) and the right hand skipping-stone chords.

Don't Be That Way accompaniment in letter notes

The Db – Bbm – Ebm – Ab7 loop with walking roots in the left hand and skipping-stone chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Db3 Db4 Db4
Bar 2
Bbm
RDb4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb3 Bb3
Bar 3
Ebm
RGb4+Bb4+Eb5 Gb4+Bb4+Eb5 Gb4+Bb4+Eb5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb3 Eb3
Bar 4
Ab7
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 Eb4 F4 Gb4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 Db5 Eb5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab3 Ab3
Bar 5
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 Db3 Db4 Db4
Bar 6
Bbm
RDb4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb3 Bb3
Bar 7
Ebm
RGb4+Bb4+Eb5 Gb4+Bb4+Eb5 Gb4+Bb4+Eb5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb3 Eb3
Bar 8
Ab7
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab3 Ab3

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 Don't Be That Way

What are the letter notes for the Don't Be That Way 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 Db – Bbm – Ebm – Ab7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Don't Be That Way?

The loop is Db – Bbm – Ebm – Ab7 (I – vi – ii – V7) in Db major, and the song ends on Db – Gb – Db.

What key is Don't Be That Way in?

Db major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Don't Be That Way?

Walking roots: root bass · quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Don't Be That Way 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.