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One Bad Apple: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by George Jackson

  • C major
  • 2/2
  • 140 BPM
  • 1970
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Pony-trot pulseRight hand Pony-trot chordsChords 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 One Bad Apple without reading music. The left hand plays pony-trot pulse (root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4) and the right hand pony-trot chords.

One Bad Apple accompaniment in letter notes

The Am – G – F – Em loop with pony-trot pulse in the left hand and pony-trot chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am
RC4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A3 A2 A2 A3
Bar 2
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 3
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 4
Em
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5
LE2 E2 E3 E2 E2 E3
Bar 5
Am
RC4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4 C4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A3 A2 A2 A3
Bar 6
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 G2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 7
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3 F2 F2 F3
Bar 8
Em
RG4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5 G4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E3 E2 E2 E3

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 One Bad Apple

What are the letter notes for the One Bad Apple 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 Am – G – F – Em, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in One Bad Apple?

The loop is Am – G – F – Em (vi – V – IV – iii) in C major, and the song ends on C – Dm – C.

What key is One Bad Apple in?

C major, at about 140 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in One Bad Apple?

Pony-trot pulse: root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is One Bad Apple 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.