Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Our Town: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By James Taylor

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Three-step climbRight hand Pop stabsChords 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 Our Town without reading music. The left hand plays three-step climb (broken chord 1-5-8) and the right hand pop stabs.

Our Town accompaniment in letter notes

The D – G – D – G loop with three-step climb in the left hand and pop stabs in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 A2 D3
Bar 2
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 D3 G3
Bar 3
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 A2 D3
Bar 4
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 G4 B4 D5 G5 B5 D6 G6 B6
LG2 D3 G3
Bar 5
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 A2 D3
Bar 6
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 D3 G3
Bar 7
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 A2 D3
Bar 8
G
RB4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LG2 D3 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 Our Town

What are the letter notes for the Our Town 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 D – G – D – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Our Town?

The loop is D – G – D – G (I – IV – I – IV) in D major, and the song ends on D – G – D.

What key is Our Town in?

D major, at about 120 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Our Town?

Three-step climb: broken chord 1-5-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Our Town 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.