Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Lullaby boat

Roots Before Branches: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Adam Anders & Nicole Hassman

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Left hand Rowing-boat pulseThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 Roots Before Branches without reading music. The left hand plays rowing-boat pulse (root bass · 6/8 8ths), and the right hand sings the tune.

Roots Before Branches accompaniment in letter notes

The E – A – F#m – E loop with rowing-boat pulse in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
E
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 2
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 3
F#m
RF#4+A4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 4
E
RE4+G#4+B4 E4 G#4 B4 E5 G#5 B5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 5
E
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 6
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 7
F#m
RF#4+A4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 8
E
RE4+G#4+B4
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2

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 Roots Before Branches

What are the letter notes for the Roots Before Branches 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 E – A – F#m – E, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Roots Before Branches?

The loop is E – A – F#m – E (V – I – vi – V) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Roots Before Branches in?

A major, at about 60 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in Roots Before Branches?

Rowing-boat pulse: root bass · 6/8 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Roots Before Branches 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.