Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

One: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Mary J. Blige

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Hammering bassThe 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 One without reading music. The left hand plays hammering bass (broken chord 8-8), and the right hand sings the tune.

One accompaniment in letter notes

The C – Am – F – C loop with hammering bass in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 G3
Bar 2
Am
RA3+C4+E4
LA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 E3
Bar 3
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 F3 F3 F3 F3 F3 F3 C3
Bar 4
C
RC4+E4+G4 E4 G4 C5 E5 G5 C6 E6 G6
LC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 G3
Bar 5
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 G3
Bar 6
Am
RA3+C4+E4
LA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3 E3
Bar 7
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 F3 F3 F3 F3 F3 F3 C3
Bar 8
C
RC4+E4+G4
LC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 G3

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

What are the letter notes for the One 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 C – Am – F – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in One?

The loop is C – Am – F – C (I – vi – IV – I) in C major, and the song ends on Am – F – C.

What key is One in?

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

What does the left hand play in One?

Hammering bass: broken chord 8-8, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is One 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.