Piano chords · Rock drive
Pressure: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Billy Joel
- F major
- 4/4
- 144 BPM
- 1981
- Easy
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 Pressure without reading music. The left hand plays heartbeat octaves (rocking octaves) and the right hand soft chords.
Pressure accompaniment in letter notes
The Gm – C#dim – Dm – Gm loop with heartbeat octaves in the left hand and soft 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.
Play next
More by Billy Joel
The same left hand: Heartbeat octaves
Questions about Pressure
What are the letter notes for the Pressure 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 Gm – C#dim – Dm – Gm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Pressure?
The loop is Gm – C#dim – Dm – Gm (ii – bvio – vi – ii) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Pressure in?
F major, at about 144 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Pressure?
Heartbeat octaves: rocking octaves, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Pressure 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.