Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
Honesty: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Billy Joel
- Bb major
- 4/4
- 130 BPM
- 1978
- 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 Honesty without reading music. The left hand plays push and land (root bass · 1 · 2& · 3 · 4) and the right hand offbeat skank.
The opening of Honesty 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.
Honesty accompaniment in letter notes
The Cm7 – Cm – Bb – Bb7 – Bb7 – Fm7 – Gb – D loop with push and land in the left hand and offbeat skank 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 Honesty
What are the letter notes for the Honesty 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 Cm7 – Cm – Bb – Bb7 – Bb7 – Fm7 – Gb – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Honesty?
The loop is Cm7 – Cm – Bb – Bb7 – Bb7 – Fm7 – Gb – D (ii7 – ii – I – I7 – v7 – bVI – III – ii7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.
What key is Honesty in?
Bb major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Honesty?
Push and land: root bass · 1 · 2& · 3 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Honesty easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Can I hear the real melody of Honesty?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the opening of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.