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Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Life Support: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Sam Smith

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Double island pulseRight hand Steady 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 Life Support without reading music. The left hand plays double island pulse (root bass · 1 · 1a · 2& · 3 · 3a · 4&) and the right hand steady chords.

Life Support accompaniment in letter notes

The G – Am – Em – C loop with double island pulse in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 2
Am
RC4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 3
Em
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 4
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 C4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 5
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 6
Am
RC4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 7
Em
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 8
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3

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 Life Support

What are the letter notes for the Life Support 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 G – Am – Em – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Life Support?

The loop is G – Am – Em – C (I – ii – vi – IV) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is Life Support in?

G major, at about 60 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Life Support?

Double island pulse: root bass · 1 · 1a · 2& · 3 · 3a · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Life Support 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.