Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Lightnin’ Strikes: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Lou Christie & Twyla Herbert

  • Eb major
  • 4/4
  • 82 BPM
  • 1966
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Soft chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

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 Lightnin’ Strikes without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand soft chords.

Lightnin’ Strikes accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Eb7 – Fm – Eb loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 2
Eb7
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 3
Fm
RC5+F5+Ab5 C5+F5+Ab5 C5+F5+Ab5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 4
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 D5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 5
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 6
Eb7
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 7
Fm
RC5+F5+Ab5 C5+F5+Ab5 C5+F5+Ab5
LF2 F2 F2
Bar 8
Eb
RBb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5 Bb4+Eb5+G5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2

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 Lightnin’ Strikes

What are the letter notes for the Lightnin’ Strikes 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 Eb – Eb7 – Fm – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Lightnin’ Strikes?

The loop is Eb – Eb7 – Fm – Eb (I – I7 – ii – I) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is Lightnin’ Strikes in?

Eb major, at about 82 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Lightnin’ Strikes?

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 Lightnin’ Strikes easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.