Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Slow dance ’50s

Once I Had a Woman: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Jimi Hendrix

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Left hand Slow-dance heartbeatThe 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 Once I Had a Woman without reading music. The left hand plays slow-dance heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 (12/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.

Once I Had a Woman accompaniment in letter notes

The F#7 – B7 – F#7 – C#7 loop with slow-dance heartbeat in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F#7
RF#4+A#4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 2
B7
RB3+D#4+F#4
LB2 B2 B2 B2
Bar 3
F#7
RF#4+A#4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 4
C#7
RC#4+E#4+G#4 E#4 G#4 B4 C#5 E#5 G#5 B5 C#6 E#6 G#6 B6 C#7
LC#3 C#3 C#3 C#3
Bar 5
F#7
RF#4+A#4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 6
B7
RB3+D#4+F#4
LB2 B2 B2 B2
Bar 7
F#7
RF#4+A#4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 8
C#7
RC#4+E#4+G#4
LC#3 C#3 C#3 C#3

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 Once I Had a Woman

What are the letter notes for the Once I Had a Woman 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 F#7 – B7 – F#7 – C#7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Once I Had a Woman?

The loop is F#7 – B7 – F#7 – C#7 (I7 – IV7 – I7 – V7) in F# major, and the song ends on B – C# – F#.

What key is Once I Had a Woman in?

F# major, at about 99 beats a minute in 12/8.

What does the left hand play in Once I Had a Woman?

Slow-dance heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 (12/8), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Once I Had a Woman 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.