Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

If: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland & others

  • Ab major
  • 4/4
  • 110 BPM
  • 2004
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatThe right hand sings the tuneChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 If without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)), and the right hand sings the tune.

The catchy part of If 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.

Bar 1
Bbm7 → Eb7
RDb4+F4+C5 Eb5 C5 Bb4 Ab4 Eb4+Ab4 C4+Bb4 Db4
LBb1 Eb2
Bar 2
Cm7 → Fm7
RBb3+Eb4+Ab4 F4 Eb4 Eb4 C4+F4 Ab4 F4 Eb4 F4 F4 Bb4 Eb4+C5 Bb4
LC2 F2 C2
Bar 3
Bbm7 → Eb7
RAb3+Db4+Ab4 G4 F4 F4 Eb4 Eb4+Eb5 Bb4 Ab4 Bb4 C4+Ab4 Db4+F4
LBb1 Eb2
Bar 4
Cm7 → Dbmaj7
RG3+Bb3+Eb4 Eb4 Eb5 Eb5 F4+Eb5 C5 Bb4 Bb4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 Eb4+Bb4 Ab4
LC2 Db2 C2

If accompaniment in letter notes

The Bbm7 – Eb7 – Cm7 – Fm7 – Cm7 – Bbm7 – Eb7 – Cm7 – Dbmaj7 – Cm7 loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bbm7 → Eb7
RBb3+Db4+F4 Eb4+G4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Eb2
Bar 2
Cm7 → Fm7
RC4+Eb4+G4 F4+Ab4+C5 C4+Eb4+G4
LC3 F2 F2
Bar 3
Bbm7 → Eb7
RBb3+Db4+F4 Eb4+G4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Eb2
Bar 4
Cm7 → Dbmaj7
RC4+Eb4+G4 Db4+F4+Ab4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 Db5 Eb5
LC3 Db3 Db3
Bar 5
Bbm7 → Eb7
RBb3+Db4+F4 Eb4+G4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Eb2
Bar 6
Cm7 → Fm7
RC4+Eb4+G4 F4+Ab4+C5 C4+Eb4+G4
LC3 F2 F2
Bar 7
Bbm7 → Eb7
RBb3+Db4+F4 Eb4+G4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Eb2
Bar 8
Cm7 → Dbmaj7
RC4+Eb4+G4 Db4+F4+Ab4 C4+Eb4+G4
LC3 Db3 Db3

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 If

What are the letter notes for the If 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 Bbm7 – Eb7 – Cm7 – Fm7 – Cm7 – Bbm7 – Eb7 – Cm7 – Dbmaj7 – Cm7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in If?

The loop is Bbm7 – Eb7 – Cm7 – Fm7 – Cm7 – Bbm7 – Eb7 – Cm7 – Dbmaj7 – Cm7 (ii7 – V7 – iii7 – vi7 – iii7 – ii7 – V7 – iii7 – IVmaj7 – iii7) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is If in?

Ab major, at about 110 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in If?

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 If easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 10 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of If?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the catchy part of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.