Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Jessie’s Girl: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Rick Springfield

  • D major
  • 2/4
  • 134 BPM
  • 1980
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Ticking clockChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 Jessie’s Girl without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand ticking clock.

The main tune of Jessie’s Girl 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
D
RA4+D5+F#5+A5 F#4+D5+F#5 F#4+F#5
LA2 D3 D3
Bar 2
Bm
RD4+F#4+E5 D5 D5
LB2 B2+D3 A2
Bar 3
Bm7
RF#4+A4+B4+D5+D5+F#5+A5 F#4+D5+D5+F#5 E5 F#4+F#5+F#5
LA2+B2 D3 D3
Bar 4
Bm
RD4+F#4+F#4+E5 D4+F#4+D5 D4+F#4
LB2 B2+D3 A2
Bar 5
Bm
RD4+F#4 D4+F#4 D4+F#4
LB2 B2 B2

Jessie’s Girl accompaniment in letter notes

The D – Bm – Bm7 – Bm loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 2
Bm
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB2 B2 B2
Bar 3
Bm7
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB2 B2 B2
Bar 4
Bm
RB3 B3 B3 B3 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C#5
LB2 B2 B2
Bar 5
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 6
Bm
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB2 B2 B2
Bar 7
Bm7
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB2 B2 B2
Bar 8
Bm
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB2 B2 B2

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 Jessie’s Girl

What are the letter notes for the Jessie’s Girl 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 – Bm – Bm7 – Bm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Jessie’s Girl?

The loop is D – Bm – Bm7 – Bm (I – vi – vi7 – vi) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Jessie’s Girl in?

D major, at about 134 beats a minute in 2/4.

What does the left hand play in Jessie’s Girl?

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 Jessie’s Girl 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.

Can I hear the real melody of Jessie’s Girl?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune 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.