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My Girl: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By The Temptations

  • C major
  • 2/2
  • 160 BPM
  • 1964
  • Easy
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Left hand Pausing footstepsRight hand Hopscotch bellsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 My Girl without reading music. The left hand plays pausing footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

The main tune of My Girl 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 → Am
RE4 G4 A4 C5
LE2 G2 A2 C3
Bar 2
F → F7
RF4 Eb4+G4+A4+C5
LF2
Bar 3
Am → F7
RA3 C4 Eb5 D5
LA2 C3
Bar 4
C → Am7
RE5 C5
LC2 E3+G3+A3+C4

My Girl accompaniment in letter notes

The Em – Am – F – F7 – Am – F7 – C – Am7 loop with pausing footsteps in the left hand and hopscotch bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Em → Am
RE5 G4+B4 C4+E4
LE2 E2 A3
Bar 2
F → F7
RF5 A4+C5 A4+C5
LF2 F2 F3
Bar 3
Am → F7
RA4 C4+E4 A4+C5
LA2 A2 F3
Bar 4
C → Am7
RC5 E4+G4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5
LC3 C3 A3
Bar 5
Em → Am
RE5 G4+B4 C4+E4
LE2 E2 A3
Bar 6
F → F7
RF5 A4+C5 A4+C5
LF2 F2 F3
Bar 7
Am → F7
RA4 C4+E4 A4+C5
LA2 A2 F3
Bar 8
C → Am7
RC5 E4+G4 C4+E4
LC3 C3 A3

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 My Girl

What are the letter notes for the My Girl 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 – Am – F – F7 – Am – F7 – C – Am7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in My Girl?

The loop is Em – Am – F – F7 – Am – F7 – C – Am7 (iii – vi – IV – IV7 – vi – IV7 – I – vi7) in C major, and the song ends on C – Dm – C.

What key is My Girl in?

C major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in My Girl?

Pausing footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is My Girl easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of My Girl?

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.