Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Bossa beach

For The Good Times: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Kris Kristofferson

  • D major
  • 4/4
  • 76 BPM
  • 1968
  • Easy
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Left hand Bossa swayRight hand Hopscotch chordsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 For The Good Times without reading music. The left hand plays bossa sway (root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&)) and the right hand hopscotch chords.

The opening of For The Good Times 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
D
RD4+A4 E4+A4 F#4+A4
Lrest
Bar 2
Em
RE4+G4 G3+B3 G3+B3
LE2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 3
A7 → A
RG3+C#4 C#4+A4 D4+A4 E4+G4
LA2
Bar 4
D
RD4+F#4 E4 D4 F#3 C#4+E4 A3 B3+D4 G3
LD2 D2 D2 A2

For The Good Times accompaniment in letter notes

The D – Em – A7 – A – D loop with bossa sway in the left hand and hopscotch chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RF#4+A4+D5 C#4+F#4+A4 C#4+F#4+A4
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 2
Em
RG4+B4+D5+E5 D4+G4+B4 D4+G4+B4
LE2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 3
A7 → A
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 G3+C#4+E4 G#3+C#4+E4
LA2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 4
D
RF#4+A4+D5 C#4+F#4+A4 E6 D6 C#6 B5 A5 G5 F#5 E5
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 5
D
RF#4+A4+D5 C#4+F#4+A4 C#4+F#4+A4
LD2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 6
Em
RG4+B4+D5+E5 D4+G4+B4 D4+G4+B4
LE2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 7
A7 → A
RC#4+E4+G4+A4 G3+C#4+E4 G#3+C#4+E4
LA2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 8
D
RF#4+A4+D5 C#4+F#4+A4 C#4+F#4+A4
LD2 D2 D2 D2

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 The Good Times

What are the letter notes for the For The Good Times 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 D – Em – A7 – A – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in For The Good Times?

The loop is D – Em – A7 – A – D (I – ii – V7 – V – I) in D major, and the song ends on D – G – D.

What key is For The Good Times in?

D major, at about 76 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in For The Good Times?

Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is For The Good Times easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 5 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of For The Good Times?

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

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.