Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

For Heaven's Sake: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Horace Silver

  • C major
  • 4/4
  • 60 BPM
  • 1948
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Velvet jazzRight hand Wait-a-beat 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 For Heaven's Sake without reading music. The left hand plays velvet jazz (lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3)) and the right hand wait-a-beat chords.

For Heaven's Sake accompaniment in letter notes

The A7 – Bb7 – C#dim – Dm loop with velvet jazz in the left hand and wait-a-beat chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A7
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4
LC#3+G3 C#3+A3 C#3+G3 C#3+A3
Bar 2
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 3
C#dim
RE4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5
LE3+A#3 E3+C#4 E3+A#3 E3+C#4
Bar 4
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 E5 F5 A5 B5 A5 F5 F5 D5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3
Bar 5
A7
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4 C#4+E4+G4+A4
LC#3+G3 C#3+A3 C#3+G3 C#3+A3
Bar 6
Bb7
RD4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4 D4+F4+Ab4+Bb4
LD3+Ab3 D3+Bb3 D3+Ab3 D3+Bb3
Bar 7
C#dim
RE4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5 E4+G4+C#5
LE3+A#3 E3+C#4 E3+A#3 E3+C#4
Bar 8
Dm
RF4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5 F4+A4+C5+D5
LF2+C3 F2+D3 F2+C3 F2+D3

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 For Heaven's Sake

What are the letter notes for the For Heaven's Sake 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 A7 – Bb7 – C#dim – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in For Heaven's Sake?

The loop is A7 – Bb7 – C#dim – Dm (VI7 – bVII7 – biio – ii) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is For Heaven's Sake in?

C major, at about 60 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in For Heaven's Sake?

Velvet jazz: lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is For Heaven's Sake 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.