Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Just What I Needed: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By The Cars

  • E major
  • 4/4
  • 140 BPM
  • 1978
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Pausing chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Just What I Needed without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand pausing chords.

Just What I Needed accompaniment in letter notes

The E – B – C#m – G# loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and pausing chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
E
RG#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 2
B
RD#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4
LB2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2
Bar 3
C#m
RE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3
Bar 4
G#
RB#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5 B#7 G#6 D#6 B#6 G#5 F##5 F#5 E#5
LG#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2
Bar 5
E
RG#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 6
B
RD#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4 D#4+F#4+B4
LB2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2
Bar 7
C#m
RE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5
LC#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3
Bar 8
G#
RB#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5 B#5+D#5+G#5
LG#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2 G#2

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 Just What I Needed

What are the letter notes for the Just What I Needed 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 E – B – C#m – G#, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Just What I Needed?

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

What key is Just What I Needed in?

E major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Just What I Needed?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Just What I Needed 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.