Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

If You Know What I Mean: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Neil Diamond

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Learn it
Style

Left hand Marching giantThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 You Know What I Mean without reading music. The left hand plays marching giant (lh triads), and the right hand sings the tune.

If You Know What I Mean accompaniment in letter notes

The D – G – D – G loop with marching giant in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2
Bar 2
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3
Bar 3
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2
Bar 4
G
RG4+B4+D5 G6 D6 B5 G5 F#5 F5 E5 Eb5
LG3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3
Bar 5
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2
Bar 6
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3
Bar 7
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2 D3+F#3 A2
Bar 8
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3 G3+B3 D3

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.

Play next

Questions about If You Know What I Mean

What are the letter notes for the If You Know What I Mean 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 D – G – D – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in If You Know What I Mean?

The loop is D – G – D – G (I – IV – I – IV) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is If You Know What I Mean in?

D major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in If You Know What I Mean?

Marching giant: lh triads, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is If You Know What I Mean 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.