Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Rikki Don't Lose That Number: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Steely Dan

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 105 BPM
  • 1974
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Three-step climbRight hand Hand-clap chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

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 Rikki Don't Lose That Number without reading music. The left hand plays three-step climb (broken chord 1-5-8) and the right hand hand-clap chords.

Rikki Don't Lose That Number accompaniment in letter notes

The Bbsus4 – Bb7 – Fsus4 – F7 loop with three-step climb in the left hand and hand-clap chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bbsus4
REb4+F4+Bb4 Eb4+F4+Bb4 Eb4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb3
Bar 2
Bb7
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb3
Bar 3
Fsus4
RBb4+C5+F5 Bb4+C5+F5 Bb4+C5+F5
LF2 C3 F3
Bar 4
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 F4 A4 C5 Eb5 F5 A5 C6 Eb6
LF2 C3 F3
Bar 5
Bbsus4
REb4+F4+Bb4 Eb4+F4+Bb4 Eb4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb3
Bar 6
Bb7
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 F3 Bb3
Bar 7
Fsus4
RBb4+C5+F5 Bb4+C5+F5 Bb4+C5+F5
LF2 C3 F3
Bar 8
F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 C3 F3

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 Rikki Don't Lose That Number

What are the letter notes for the Rikki Don't Lose That Number 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 Bbsus4 – Bb7 – Fsus4 – F7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Rikki Don't Lose That Number?

The loop is Bbsus4 – Bb7 – Fsus4 – F7 (IVsus – IV7 – Isus – I7) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Rikki Don't Lose That Number in?

F major, at about 105 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Rikki Don't Lose That Number?

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

Is Rikki Don't Lose That Number 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.