Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

It Had Better Be Tonight: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Henry Mancini

  • D minor
  • 4/4
  • 160 BPM
  • 1962
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Hop-up dropRight hand Eager chordsChords 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 It Had Better Be Tonight without reading music. The left hand plays hop-up drop (broken chord 8-12-12-5) and the right hand eager chords.

The bass riff of It Had Better Be Tonight 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
C#dim → Dm
RA#3+C#4+E4+A#4 B3+E4+F4+A4
LA2 A1 A2 A2 A1 A2
Bar 2
C#dim → Dm
RA#3+C#4+E4+G4 A3+B3+D4+F4
LA2 A1 A2 A2 A1 A2
Bar 3
Eb → A → Dm
RBb3+Eb4 A3+C#4 A3+D4
LG2+Eb3 A2+E3 D3+F3
Bar 4
Dm
RA4 D5 G4 G#4 G4 F4 D4 A3
Lrest

It Had Better Be Tonight accompaniment in letter notes

The C#dim – Dm – C#dim – Dm – Eb – A – Dm – Dm loop with hop-up drop in the left hand and eager chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C#dim → Dm
RG4+C#5+E5 G4+C#5+E5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LC#4 A3 A3 A2
Bar 2
C#dim → Dm
RG4+C#5+E5 G4+C#5+E5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LC#4 A3 A3 A2
Bar 3
Eb → A → Dm
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LEb3 Bb3 E4 E3
Bar 4
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 F4 A4 D5 F5 A5 D6 F6 A6
LD3 A3 A3 A2
Bar 5
C#dim → Dm
RG4+C#5+E5 G4+C#5+E5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LC#4 A3 A3 A2
Bar 6
C#dim → Dm
RG4+C#5+E5 G4+C#5+E5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LC#4 A3 A3 A2
Bar 7
Eb → A → Dm
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LEb3 Bb3 E4 E3
Bar 8
Dm
RA4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5 A4+D5+F5
LD3 A3 A3 A2

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 It Had Better Be Tonight

What are the letter notes for the It Had Better Be Tonight 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 C#dim – Dm – C#dim – Dm – Eb – A – Dm – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in It Had Better Be Tonight?

The loop is C#dim – Dm – C#dim – Dm – Eb – A – Dm – Dm (vii° – i – vii° – i – bII – V – i – vii°) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.

What key is It Had Better Be Tonight in?

D minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in It Had Better Be Tonight?

Hop-up drop: broken chord 8-12-12-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is It Had Better Be Tonight easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of It Had Better Be Tonight?

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

Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.