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I Would Be Sad: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Scott Avett, Seth Avett & others

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Left hand Little stepsRight hand Hand-clap 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 I Would Be Sad without reading music. The left hand plays little steps (broken chord 1-3-5-3) and the right hand hand-clap chords.

I Would Be Sad accompaniment in letter notes

The Ab – Fm – Db – Eb loop with little steps in the left hand and hand-clap chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 C3 Eb3 C3
Bar 2
Fm
RAb4+C5+F5 Ab4+C5+F5 Ab4+C5+F5
LF2 Ab2 C3 Ab2
Bar 3
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 F3 Ab3 F3
Bar 4
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 C5 Bb4 Ab4 Bb4 F5 Eb5 Db5 Eb5
LEb2 G2 Bb2 G2
Bar 5
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 C3 Eb3 C3
Bar 6
Fm
RAb4+C5+F5 Ab4+C5+F5 Ab4+C5+F5
LF2 Ab2 C3 Ab2
Bar 7
Db
RF4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Db5
LDb3 F3 Ab3 F3
Bar 8
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5
LEb2 G2 Bb2 G2

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 Would Be Sad

What are the letter notes for the I Would Be Sad 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 Ab – Fm – Db – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in I Would Be Sad?

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

What key is I Would Be Sad in?

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

What does the left hand play in I Would Be Sad?

Little steps: broken chord 1-3-5-3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I Would Be Sad 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.