Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Family Man: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Hall & Oates

  • D minor
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 1982
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Hopping heartbeatRight hand Pumping chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Family Man without reading music. The left hand plays hopping heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 1& · 2& · 3) and the right hand pumping chords.

Family Man accompaniment in letter notes

The Dm – Bb – Dm – Am loop with hopping 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
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
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 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 4
Am
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5 E5
LA2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 5
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
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 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 8
Am
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2 A2

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 Family Man

What are the letter notes for the Family Man 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 Dm – Bb – Dm – Am, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Family Man?

The loop is Dm – Bb – Dm – Am (i – bVI – i – v) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.

What key is Family Man in?

D minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Family Man?

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

Is Family Man 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.