Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Easy Living: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Billie Holiday

  • Eb major
  • 4/4
  • 90 BPM
  • 1937
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Marching giantRight hand Soft chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Easy Living without reading music. The left hand plays marching giant (lh triads) and the right hand soft chords.

The intro of Easy Living 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
Eb → C7
RBb3+Eb4+G4 G4+D5+F5 G4+C5+Eb5 Bb3+E4+G4 D5
LEb3+G3 Bb2 C3 C2
Bar 2
Fm → Bb7
RC4+F4+C5 Ab4 C4 C4+D4+G4 Cb3+D4+G4
LF2+C3+Ab3 Bb2+Ab3
Bar 3
Eb → Fm
RBb3+C4+Eb4 G5 F5 Eb5 C5 Gb5
LEb3+G3 F3+Ab3 G3+Bb3 Ab3+C4
Bar 4
Eb → Bb7
RF5 Eb5 D4+Gb4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb5+G5+Bb5+Eb6
LG3+Bb3 Bb2+Ab3 Eb2+Bb2+G3 Eb4+G4+C5

Easy Living accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – C7 – Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Fm – Eb – Eb – Bb7 – Eb loop with marching giant in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb → C7
RBb4+Eb5+G5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LEb3+G3+Bb3 Eb3+G3+Bb3 G3+C4+E4 G3+C4+E4
Bar 2
Fm → Bb7
RC5+F5+Ab5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LF3+Ab3+C4 F3+Ab3+C4 F3+Bb3+D4 F3+Bb3+D4
Bar 3
Eb → Fm
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3+G3+Bb3 F3+Ab3+C4 Bb2+Eb3+G3 Bb2+Eb3+G3
Bar 4
Eb → Bb7
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb6 G6 Eb6 Bb5 G5 Gb5 F5 Fb5
LEb3+G3+Bb3 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb2+Eb3+G3 Bb2+Eb3+G3
Bar 5
Eb → C7
RBb4+Eb5+G5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LEb3+G3+Bb3 Eb3+G3+Bb3 G3+C4+E4 G3+C4+E4
Bar 6
Fm → Bb7
RC5+F5+Ab5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LF3+Ab3+C4 F3+Ab3+C4 F3+Bb3+D4 F3+Bb3+D4
Bar 7
Eb → Fm
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3+G3+Bb3 F3+Ab3+C4 Bb2+Eb3+G3 Bb2+Eb3+G3
Bar 8
Eb → Bb7
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb3+G3+Bb3 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb2+Eb3+G3 Bb2+Eb3+G3

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 Easy Living

What are the letter notes for the Easy Living 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 Eb – C7 – Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Fm – Eb – Eb – Bb7 – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Easy Living?

The loop is Eb – C7 – Fm – Bb7 – Eb – Fm – Eb – Eb – Bb7 – Eb (I – VI7 – ii – V7 – I – ii – I – V7 – I – VI7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Bb7 – Eb.

What key is Easy Living in?

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

What does the left hand play in Easy Living?

Marching giant: lh triads, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Easy Living easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 10 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of Easy Living?

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

Made from 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.