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If I Die Young: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Kimberly Perry

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Tick-tick-boom pulseRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

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 I Die Young without reading music. The left hand plays tick-tick-boom pulse (root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4) and the right hand steady chords.

If I Die Young accompaniment in letter notes

The A – E – B – C#m loop with tick-tick-boom pulse in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A
RC#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A3 A2 A2 A3
Bar 2
E
RG#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E3 E2 E2 E3
Bar 3
B
RD#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4
LB2 B2 B3 B2 B2 B3
Bar 4
C#m
RE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 D#4 E4 F#4 G#4 A4 B4 C#5 D#5
LC#3 C#3 C#4 C#3 C#3 C#4
Bar 5
A
RC#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A3 A2 A2 A3
Bar 6
E
RG#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E3 E2 E2 E3
Bar 7
B
RD#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4
LB2 B2 B3 B2 B2 B3
Bar 8
C#m
RE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#4 C#3 C#3 C#4

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 If I Die Young

What are the letter notes for the If I Die Young 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 – E – B – C#m, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in If I Die Young?

The loop is A – E – B – C#m (IV – I – V – vi) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is If I Die Young in?

E major, at about 69 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in If I Die Young?

Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is If I Die Young easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

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