Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Numb: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by U2

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Swinging lanternChords 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 Numb without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand swinging lantern.

Numb accompaniment in letter notes

The G7 – C – G7 – C loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and swinging lantern in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G7
RD5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 2
C
RG4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 3
G7
RD5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 4
C
RG4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 C7 G6 E6 C6 A5 Ab5 G5 F#5
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 5
G7
RD5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 6
C
RG4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3
Bar 7
G7
RD5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4 D5 G4
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 8
C
RG4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4 G4 C4
LC3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3

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 Numb

What are the letter notes for the Numb 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 G7 – C – G7 – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Numb?

The loop is G7 – C – G7 – C (I7 – IV – I7 – IV) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is Numb in?

G major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Numb?

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

Is Numb 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.