Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Escape: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Rupert Holmes

  • Bb major
  • 4/4
  • 125 BPM
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Rock hopRight hand Double-skip chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Escape without reading music. The left hand plays rock hop (root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4) and the right hand double-skip chords.

The bass riff of Escape 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
Bb
RF4+Bb4+F5 Eb4+G4+Eb5 D5 D4+Bb4
LBb1 Bb2 Bb1 Bb1 Bb2
Bar 2
Bb
RC5 C4 Bb3
LEb2 Eb2 Eb3 Eb2 Eb3
Bar 3
Gm7
RD5 D4+D5 D4+D5 Eb4+Eb5 D4+D5 Bb4 Bb4 D4+F4
LG2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 4
Fsus4 → F
RA3+C4 Bb3 Bb3+Bb4
LF2 F2 F3 F2 F3

Escape accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – Bb – Gm7 – Fsus4 – F loop with rock hop in the left hand and double-skip chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 2
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 3
Gm7
RG4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5
LG2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 4
Fsus4 → F
RF4+Bb4+C5 F4+Bb4+C5 F4+Bb4+C5 C7 A6 F6 C6 A5 Ab5 G5 Gb5
LF2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 5
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 6
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb3 Bb2 Bb2 Bb3
Bar 7
Gm7
RG4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5 G4+Bb4+D5
LG2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 8
Fsus4 → F
RF4+Bb4+C5 F4+Bb4+C5 F4+Bb4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5 F4+A4+C5
LF2 F3 F2 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 Escape

What are the letter notes for the Escape 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 Bb – Bb – Gm7 – Fsus4 – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Escape?

The loop is Bb – Bb – Gm7 – Fsus4 – F (I – vi7 – Vsus4 – V – I) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is Escape in?

Bb major, at about 125 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Escape?

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

Is Escape easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Escape?

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

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