Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Lullaby boat

Hold On: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Kansas

  • C major
  • 6/8
  • 72 BPM
  • Medium
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Left hand Swelling 6/8The right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

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 On without reading music. The left hand plays swelling 6/8 (open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.

Hold On accompaniment in letter notes

The C – D – Am – D loop with swelling 6/8 in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 2
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 3
Am
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 A3 C4 A3 E3
Bar 4
D
RD4+F#4+A4 F#4 A4 D5 F#5 A5 D6
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 5
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC3 G3 C4 E4 C4 G3
Bar 6
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 7
Am
RA3+C4+E4
LA2 E3 A3 C4 A3 E3
Bar 8
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 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 Hold On

What are the letter notes for the Hold On 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 C – D – Am – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Hold On?

The loop is C – D – Am – D (I – II – vi – II) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Hold On in?

C major, at about 72 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in Hold On?

Swelling 6/8: open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Hold On 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.