Piano chords · Rock drive
Once In A While: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Michael Edwards
- Eb major
- 4/4
- 80 BPM
- I–ii–I–ii loop
- 1937
- Medium
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 In A While without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand pausing chords.
Once In A While accompaniment in letter notes
The Eb – Fm – Eb – Fm loop with power fifths in the left hand and pausing 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 Once In A While
What are the letter notes for the Once In A While 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 – Fm – Eb – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Once In A While?
The loop is Eb – Fm – Eb – Fm (I – ii – I – ii) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.
What key is Once In A While in?
Eb major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Once In A While?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Once In A While 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.