Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Killing Me Softly With His Song: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Roberta Flack

  • C major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1972
  • Medium
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Left hand Dreamy waveRight hand Sleep-in chordsChords 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 Killing Me Softly With His Song without reading music. The left hand plays dreamy wave (open arpeggio 1-5-9-10) and the right hand sleep-in chords.

The main tune of Killing Me Softly With His Song 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
Em → Em7
RB4+G#5 C5+A5 D5+B5
LE3 B3 E4
Bar 2
Am → Am7
RE5+C6 E5+C6 E5+C6 E5+C6 C5+A5 G4+E5 B4+G5
LA2 E3 A3 C4
Bar 3
F → Am
RA4+F5 G4 F4 E4 D4 C4
LF2 C3 F3 G3 A3
Bar 4
G
RB3 B3 B3 B3 G3 D3 E3
LG2+D3 B1 C2+G2

Killing Me Softly With His Song accompaniment in letter notes

The Em – Em7 – Am – Am7 – F – Am – G loop with dreamy wave in the left hand and sleep-in chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Em → Em7
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 C#5+F#5+A#5
LE2 B2 F#3 G3
Bar 2
Am → Am7
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 F#4+B4+D#5
LA2 E3 B3 C4
Bar 3
F → Am
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 F#4+B4+D#5
LF2 C3 G3 A3
Bar 4
G
RG4 B4 D5 G5 B5 D6 G6 B6
LG2 D3 A3 B3
Bar 5
Em → Em7
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 C#5+F#5+A#5
LE2 B2 F#3 G3
Bar 6
Am → Am7
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 F#4+B4+D#5
LA2 E3 B3 C4
Bar 7
F → Am
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 F#4+B4+D#5
LF2 C3 G3 A3
Bar 8
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 E5+A5+C#6
LG2 D3 A3 B3

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 Killing Me Softly With His Song

What are the letter notes for the Killing Me Softly With His Song 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 Em – Em7 – Am – Am7 – F – Am – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Killing Me Softly With His Song?

The loop is Em – Em7 – Am – Am7 – F – Am – G (iii – iii7 – vi – vi7 – IV – vi – V) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Killing Me Softly With His Song in?

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

What does the left hand play in Killing Me Softly With His Song?

Dreamy wave: open arpeggio 1-5-9-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Killing Me Softly With His Song easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 7 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Killing Me Softly With His Song?

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

Made from 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.