Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Not While I’m Around: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Stephen Sondheim

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Left hand Jazz walkThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 Not While I’m Around without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass), and the right hand sings the tune.

Not While I’m Around accompaniment in letter notes

The Db – Ab7 – Db – Gb loop with jazz walk in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db
RDb4+F4+Ab4
LDb3 Eb3 Fb3 F3
Bar 2
Ab7
RAb4+C5+Eb5
LAb2 Bb2 Cb2 C3
Bar 3
Db
RDb4+F4+Ab4
LDb3 Eb3 Fb3 F3
Bar 4
Gb
RGb4+Bb4+Db5 Bbb4 Bb4 Db5 Eb5 Db5 Bb4 Bbb4 Gb4
LGb2 Ab2 Bbb2 Bb2
Bar 5
Db
RDb4+F4+Ab4
LDb3 Eb3 Fb3 F3
Bar 6
Ab7
RAb4+C5+Eb5
LAb2 Bb2 Cb2 C3
Bar 7
Db
RDb4+F4+Ab4
LDb3 Eb3 Fb3 F3
Bar 8
Gb
RGb4+Bb4+Db5
LGb2 Ab2 Bbb2 Bb2

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 While I’m Around

What are the letter notes for the Not While I’m Around 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 Db – Ab7 – Db – Gb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Not While I’m Around?

The loop is Db – Ab7 – Db – Gb (I – V7 – I – IV) in Db major, and the song ends on Db – Ab7 – Db.

What key is Not While I’m Around in?

Db major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Not While I’m Around?

Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Not While I’m Around 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.