Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
I Shall Be Released: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Bob Dylan
- A major
- 4/4
- 144 BPM
- 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 I Shall Be Released without reading music. The left hand plays three-step climb (broken chord 1-5-8) and the right hand wait-a-beat chords.
I Shall Be Released accompaniment in letter notes
The A – Bm – C#m – E7 loop with three-step climb in the left hand and wait-a-beat 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 I Shall Be Released
What are the letter notes for the I Shall Be Released 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 A – Bm – C#m – E7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in I Shall Be Released?
The loop is A – Bm – C#m – E7 (I – ii – iii – V7) in A major, and the song ends on A – D – A.
What key is I Shall Be Released in?
A major, at about 144 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Shall Be Released?
Three-step climb: broken chord 1-5-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Shall Be Released 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.