Piano chords · Rock drive
Not Fade Away: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Buddy Holly
- Eb major
- 2/2
- 160 BPM
- I–IV–I–IV loop
- 1957
- Medium
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 Not Fade Away without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand knock-knock chords.
Not Fade Away accompaniment in letter notes
The Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab loop with power fifths in the left hand and knock-knock 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 Not Fade Away
What are the letter notes for the Not Fade Away 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 – Ab – Eb – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Not Fade Away?
The loop is Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab (I – IV – I – IV) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ab – Eb.
What key is Not Fade Away in?
Eb major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Not Fade Away?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Not Fade Away 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.