Piano chords · Bossa beach
Holding Back The Years: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Mick Hucknell
- C major
- 4/4
- 88 BPM
- ii–V7–ii–V7 loop
- 1985
- 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 Holding Back The Years without reading music. The left hand plays patient seesaw (root–fifth 1-1-1-5) and the right hand late-knock chords.
Holding Back The Years accompaniment in letter notes
The Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 loop with patient seesaw in the left hand and late-knock 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.
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Questions about Holding Back The Years
What are the letter notes for the Holding Back The Years 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 – G7 – Dm – G7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Holding Back The Years?
The loop is Dm – G7 – Dm – G7 (ii – V7 – ii – V7) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is Holding Back The Years in?
C major, at about 88 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Holding Back The Years?
Patient seesaw: root–fifth 1-1-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Holding Back The Years easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.