Piano chords · Rock drive
Higher Ground: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
- Eb major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- Easy
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 Higher Ground without reading music. The left hand plays heartbeat octaves (rocking octaves) and the right hand offbeat skank.
The intro of Higher Ground 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.
Higher Ground accompaniment in letter notes
The Eb7 – Eb7 – Gb – Ab – Eb7 – Eb7 – Gb – Ab loop with heartbeat octaves in the left hand and offbeat skank in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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
More by Stevie Wonder
The same left hand: Heartbeat octaves
Questions about Higher Ground
What are the letter notes for the Higher Ground 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 Eb7 – Eb7 – Gb – Ab – Eb7 – Eb7 – Gb – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Higher Ground?
The loop is Eb7 – Eb7 – Gb – Ab – Eb7 – Eb7 – Gb – Ab (I7 – bIII – IV – I7 – bIII – IV – I7 – bIII) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.
What key is Higher Ground in?
Eb major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Higher Ground?
Heartbeat octaves: rocking octaves, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Higher Ground easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Can I hear the real melody of Higher Ground?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.