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Fascinating Rhythm: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By George Gershwin

  • Eb major
  • 4/4
  • 75 BPM
  • 1924
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Lub-dub heartbeatRight hand Steady 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 Fascinating Rhythm without reading music. The left hand plays lub-dub heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 1& · 3 · 3&) and the right hand steady chords.

The main tune of Fascinating Rhythm 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
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4 Ab4 G4 F4 C4+F4+Bb4 Bb4 F4
LBb1 Bb2 Ab2 Eb2
Bar 2
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+Ab4 G4 F4 C4+F4+Bb4 Bb4 D4+F4 Ab4
LBb1 Bb2 Ab2 Eb2 Bb1
Bar 3
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+G4 F4 C4+F4+Bb4 C4+F4+Bb4 F4 C4+Ab4 G4
LBb2 Ab2 Eb2 Ab1
Bar 4
Bb → Bb7
RD4+F4 Bb3 Ab3+D4+G4+Bb4
LBb1 G2 F2 Bb1

Fascinating Rhythm accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb7 – Ab – Bb7 – Ab – Bb7 – Bb7 – Ab – Bb – Bb7 loop with lub-dub heartbeat in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LBb2 Bb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 2
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 C5+Eb5+Ab5 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 3
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4+Bb4 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LBb2 Bb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 4
Bb → Bb7
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 D5 Eb5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 5
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LBb2 Bb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 6
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 C5+Eb5+Ab5 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 7
Bb7 → Ab
RD4+F4+Bb4 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LBb2 Bb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 8
Bb → Bb7
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2

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 Fascinating Rhythm

What are the letter notes for the Fascinating Rhythm 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 Bb7 – Ab – Bb7 – Ab – Bb7 – Bb7 – Ab – Bb – Bb7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Fascinating Rhythm?

The loop is Bb7 – Ab – Bb7 – Ab – Bb7 – Bb7 – Ab – Bb – Bb7 (V7 – IV – V7 – IV – V7 – IV – V – V7 – IV) in Eb major, and the song ends on Fm – Ab – Eb.

What key is Fascinating Rhythm in?

Eb major, at about 75 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Fascinating Rhythm?

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

Is Fascinating Rhythm easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 9 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of Fascinating Rhythm?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune 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.