Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
Eighty One: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Miles Davis
- F major
- 4/4
- 160 BPM
- 1965
- Easy
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 Eighty One without reading music. The left hand plays island zigzag (broken chord 8-12-5) and the right hand pop stabs.
Eighty One accompaniment in letter notes
The Fsus4 – Bbsus4 – Fsus4 – Bbsus4 loop with island zigzag in the left hand and pop stabs in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Eighty One
What are the letter notes for the Eighty One 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 Fsus4 – Bbsus4 – Fsus4 – Bbsus4, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Eighty One?
The loop is Fsus4 – Bbsus4 – Fsus4 – Bbsus4 (Isus – IVsus – Isus – IVsus) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Eighty One in?
F major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Eighty One?
Island zigzag: broken chord 8-12-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Eighty One 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.