Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Often: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Abel Tesfaye, Jason Quenneville & others

  • G minor
  • 2/2
  • 132 BPM
  • 2014
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Lazy footstepsRight hand Ticking clockChords 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 Often without reading music. The left hand plays lazy footsteps (root bass · 1 · 3 · 4) and the right hand ticking clock.

Often accompaniment in letter notes

The Dm – Gm – Eb – Dm loop with lazy footsteps in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Dm
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D3 D2
Bar 2
Gm
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 G3 G2
Bar 3
Eb
REb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2
Bar 4
Dm
RD4 D4 D4 D4 Eb4 F4 G4 A4 Bb4 C5 D5 Eb5
LD2 D3 D2
Bar 5
Dm
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D3 D2
Bar 6
Gm
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 G3 G2
Bar 7
Eb
REb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4 Eb4
LEb2 Eb3 Eb2
Bar 8
Dm
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D3 D2

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 Often

What are the letter notes for the Often 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 Dm – Gm – Eb – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Often?

The loop is Dm – Gm – Eb – Dm (v – i – bVI – v) in G minor, and the song ends on Eb – F – Gm.

What key is Often in?

G minor, at about 132 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Often?

Lazy footsteps: root bass · 1 · 3 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Often 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.