Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

No Surprise: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Artist unknown

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Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Double-skip 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 No Surprise without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand double-skip chords.

No Surprise accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Bb – Cm – Ab loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and double-skip chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 2
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Cm
RC4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 4
Ab
RAb4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5 Ab6 Eb6 C6 Ab5 G5 Gb5 F5 Fb5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 5
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4 Eb4+G4+Bb4
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 6
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4 Bb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Cm
RC4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4 C4+Eb4+G4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 8
Ab
RAb4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5+Eb5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2 Ab2

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 No Surprise

What are the letter notes for the No Surprise 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 – Bb – Cm – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in No Surprise?

The loop is Eb – Bb – Cm – Ab (I – V – vi – IV) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is No Surprise in?

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

What does the left hand play in No Surprise?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is No Surprise 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.