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Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Empty Handed: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Lea Michele

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Left hand Hiccup heartbeatRight hand Pumping 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 Empty Handed without reading music. The left hand plays hiccup heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 2 · 2a · 3& · 4) and the right hand pumping chords.

Empty Handed accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Bb – F – Gm loop with hiccup heartbeat in the left hand and pumping chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb2 Eb3
Bar 2
Bb
RF4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 3
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 4
Gm
RD5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5
LG2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 5
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb2 Eb3
Bar 6
Bb
RF4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 7
F
RC5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5 C5+F5+A5
LF2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 8
Gm
RD5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5 D5+G5+Bb5
LG2 G3 G2 G2 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 Empty Handed

What are the letter notes for the Empty Handed 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 – Bb – F – Gm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Empty Handed?

The loop is Eb – Bb – F – Gm (IV – I – V – vi) in Bb major, and the song ends on Gm – Eb – Bb.

What key is Empty Handed in?

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

What does the left hand play in Empty Handed?

Hiccup heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2a · 3& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Empty Handed 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.