Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
MacArthur Park: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Donna Summer
- D minor
- 4/4
- 80 BPM
- 1968
- Medium
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 MacArthur Park without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand pumping chords.
The intro of MacArthur Park 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.
MacArthur Park accompaniment in letter notes
The Gm – Bb – Ab – Bb – Gm – C# – Eb loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and pumping chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 MacArthur Park
What are the letter notes for the MacArthur Park 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 Gm – Bb – Ab – Bb – Gm – C# – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in MacArthur Park?
The loop is Gm – Bb – Ab – Bb – Gm – C# – Eb (iv – VI – #IV – VI – iv – VII – bII) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is MacArthur Park in?
D minor, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in MacArthur Park?
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 MacArthur Park 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 MacArthur Park?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.