Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Hello Mary Lou: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Gene Pitney & C. Mangiaracina

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Learn it
Style

Left hand Stair stepsRight hand Steady 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 Hello Mary Lou without reading music. The left hand plays stair steps (broken chord 1-3-5) and the right hand steady chords.

Hello Mary Lou accompaniment in letter notes

The F7 – Bb – F7 – Bb loop with stair steps in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 A2 C3
Bar 2
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 D3 F3
Bar 3
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 A2 C3
Bar 4
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5
LBb2 D3 F3
Bar 5
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 A2 C3
Bar 6
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 D3 F3
Bar 7
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 A2 C3
Bar 8
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 D3 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.

Play next

Questions about Hello Mary Lou

What are the letter notes for the Hello Mary Lou 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 F7 – Bb – F7 – Bb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Hello Mary Lou?

The loop is F7 – Bb – F7 – Bb (V7 – I – V7 – I) in Bb major, and the song ends on Bb – F7 – Bb.

What key is Hello Mary Lou in?

Bb major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Hello Mary Lou?

Stair steps: broken chord 1-3-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Hello Mary Lou 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.