I Know What Boys Like: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Christopher Butler

E major
5/4
132 BPM
1979
Easy

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

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 I Know What Boys Like without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand marching chords.

I Know What Boys Like accompaniment in letter notes

The C#m – C# – B – G# loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and marching chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C#mRE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#3

Bar 2
C#RE#4+G#4+C#5 E#4+G#4+C#5 E#4+G#4+C#5 E#4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#3

Bar 3
BRD#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4
LB2 B2 B2

Bar 4
G#RB#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5 D#4 E4 F#4 G#4 A4 B4 C#5 D#5
LG#2 G#2 G#2

Bar 5
C#mRE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#3

Bar 6
C#RE#4+G#4+C#5 E#4+G#4+C#5 E#4+G#4+C#5 E#4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#3

Bar 7
BRD#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4
LB2 B2 B2

Bar 8
G#RB#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5
LG#2 G#2 G#2

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.

Questions about I Know What Boys Like

What are the letter notes for the I Know What Boys Like 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#m – C# – B – G#, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in I Know What Boys Like?

The loop is C#m – C# – B – G# (vi – VI5 – V5 – III5) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is I Know What Boys Like in?

E major, at about 132 beats a minute in 5/4.

What does the left hand play in I Know What Boys Like?

Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I Know What Boys Like 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.