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Don’t Know Much: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Pausing footstepsRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

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 Know Much without reading music. The left hand plays pausing footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3) and the right hand steady chords.

Don’t Know Much accompaniment in letter notes

The F – G – C – F loop with pausing footsteps in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3
Bar 2
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G3
Bar 3
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C4
Bar 4
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5 E5
LF2 F2 F3
Bar 5
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3
Bar 6
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G3
Bar 7
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C4
Bar 8
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3

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 Know Much

What are the letter notes for the Don’t Know Much 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 – G – C – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Don’t Know Much?

The loop is F – G – C – F (IV – V – I – IV) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Don’t Know Much in?

C major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Don’t Know Much?

Pausing footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Don’t Know Much 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.