Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Runaround Sue: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Dion

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Yo-yo bounceRight hand Ticking clockChords 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 Runaround Sue without reading music. The left hand plays yo-yo bounce (broken chord 8-5-8) and the right hand ticking clock.

Runaround Sue accompaniment in letter notes

The D – Bm – G – A loop with yo-yo bounce in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD3 A2 D3
Bar 2
Bm
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB3 F#3 B3
Bar 3
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 D3 G3
Bar 4
A
RA3 A3 E4 A4 C#5 E5 A5 C#6 E6 A6
LA3 E3 A3
Bar 5
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD3 A2 D3
Bar 6
Bm
RB3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3
LB3 F#3 B3
Bar 7
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 D3 G3
Bar 8
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3
LA3 E3 A3

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 Runaround Sue

What are the letter notes for the Runaround Sue 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 – Bm – G – A, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Runaround Sue?

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

What key is Runaround Sue in?

D major, at about 90 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Runaround Sue?

Yo-yo bounce: broken chord 8-5-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Runaround Sue 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.