Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Hold On: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Sarah McLachlan

  • Ab major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 1993
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Soft chordsChords 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 engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand soft chords.

Hold On accompaniment in letter notes

The Bbm – Eb – Bbm – Db loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 2
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 3
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 4
Db
RAb4+Db5+F5 Db7 Ab6 F6 Db6 Bbb5 Ab5 G5 Gb5
LDb3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3
Bar 5
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 6
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 7
Bbm
RF4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5 F4+Bb4+Db5
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 8
Db
RAb4+Db5+F5 Ab4+Db5+F5 Ab4+Db5+F5
LDb3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3 Db3

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 Bbm – Eb – Bbm – Db, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Hold On?

The loop is Bbm – Eb – Bbm – Db (ii – V – ii – IV) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Hold On in?

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

What does the left hand play in Hold On?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, 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.