Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Helplessly Hoping: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Crosby, Stills & Nash

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 1969
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Seesaw bassRight hand Late-knock 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 Helplessly Hoping without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5) and the right hand late-knock chords.

Helplessly Hoping accompaniment in letter notes

The Am – C – G – D loop with seesaw bass in the left hand and late-knock chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am
RC4+E4+G4+A4 C4+E4+G4+A4 C4+E4+G4+A4
LA2 E3 A2 E3
Bar 2
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 G3 C3 G3
Bar 3
G
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 D3 G2 D3
Bar 4
D
RF#4+A4+C5+D5 F5 F#5 A5 B5 A5 F#5 F5 D5
LD2 A2 D2 A2
Bar 5
Am
RC4+E4+G4+A4 C4+E4+G4+A4 C4+E4+G4+A4
LA2 E3 A2 E3
Bar 6
C
RE4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5 E4+G4+Bb4+C5
LC3 G3 C3 G3
Bar 7
G
RB4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5 B4+D5+F5+G5
LG2 D3 G2 D3
Bar 8
D
RF#4+A4+C5+D5 F#4+A4+C5+D5 F#4+A4+C5+D5
LD2 A2 D2 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 Helplessly Hoping

What are the letter notes for the Helplessly Hoping 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 Am – C – G – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Helplessly Hoping?

The loop is Am – C – G – D (ii – IV – I – V) in G major, and the song ends on G – C – G.

What key is Helplessly Hoping in?

G major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Helplessly Hoping?

Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Helplessly Hoping 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.