Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
Hit The Road Jack: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Ray Charles
- A minor
- 2/2
- 160 BPM
- 1961
- 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 Hit The Road Jack without reading music. The left hand plays leapfrog pulse (root bass · 1 · 2a · 3) and the right hand steady chords.
The main tune of Hit The Road Jack 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.
Hit The Road Jack accompaniment in letter notes
The Am – F – E7 – Am – F – E7 loop with leapfrog pulse in the left hand and steady chords 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
Questions about Hit The Road Jack
What are the letter notes for the Hit The Road Jack 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 – F – E7 – Am – F – E7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Hit The Road Jack?
The loop is Am – F – E7 – Am – F – E7 (i – VI – V7 – i – VI – V7) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.
What key is Hit The Road Jack in?
A minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Hit The Road Jack?
Leapfrog pulse: root bass · 1 · 2a · 3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Hit The Road Jack easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 6 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Can I hear the real melody of Hit The Road Jack?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune 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.