Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Down By The River: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Milky Chance

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Left hand Seesaw bassRight hand Rising lightChords 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 Down By The River without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5) and the right hand rising light.

Down By The River accompaniment in letter notes

The F#m – A – E – Bm loop with seesaw bass in the left hand and rising light in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F#m
RC#5 F#5 A5 C#5 F#5 A5 C#5 F#5 A5 C#5 F#5 A5
LF#2 C#3 F#2 C#3
Bar 2
A
RE4 A4 C#5 E4 A4 C#5 E4 A4 C#5 E4 A4 C#5
LA2 E3 A2 E3
Bar 3
E
RB4 E5 G#5 B4 E5 G#5 B4 E5 G#5 B4 E5 G#5
LE2 B2 E2 B2
Bar 4
Bm
RF#4 B4 D5 F#4 B4 D5 C#5 D5 F#5 G#5 F#5 D5 D5 B4
LB2 F#3 B2 F#3
Bar 5
F#m
RC#5 F#5 A5 C#5 F#5 A5 C#5 F#5 A5 C#5 F#5 A5
LF#2 C#3 F#2 C#3
Bar 6
A
RE4 A4 C#5 E4 A4 C#5 E4 A4 C#5 E4 A4 C#5
LA2 E3 A2 E3
Bar 7
E
RB4 E5 G#5 B4 E5 G#5 B4 E5 G#5 B4 E5 G#5
LE2 B2 E2 B2
Bar 8
Bm
RF#4 B4 D5 F#4 B4 D5 F#4 B4 D5 F#4 B4 D5
LB2 F#3 B2 F#3

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 Down By The River

What are the letter notes for the Down By The River 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#m – A – E – Bm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Down By The River?

The loop is F#m – A – E – Bm (vi – I – V – ii) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Down By The River in?

A major, at about 114 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Down By The River?

Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Down By The River 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.