Piano chords · Rock drive
Hold Back The River: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By James Bay
- F major
- 4/4
- 135 BPM
- vi–V–I–IV loop
- 2014
- Medium
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 Hold Back The River without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths), and the right hand sings the tune.
Hold Back The River accompaniment in letter notes
The Dm – C – F – Bb loop with engine 8ths in the left hand. 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.
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Questions about Hold Back The River
What are the letter notes for the Hold Back The River 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 Dm – C – F – Bb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Hold Back The River?
The loop is Dm – C – F – Bb (vi – V – I – IV) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Hold Back The River in?
F major, at about 135 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Hold Back The River?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Hold Back The River easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.