Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Bossa beach

Rural Route: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by John Mellencamp

  • C major
  • 4/4
  • 92 BPM
  • 2006
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Tiptoe seesawRight 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 Rural Route without reading music. The left hand plays tiptoe seesaw (root–fifth 1-5-5-5) and the right hand ticking clock.

Rural Route accompaniment in letter notes

The D – C – D – C loop with tiptoe seesaw 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 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 2
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 G3 G3 G3 G3
Bar 3
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 4
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 E6 D6 C6 B5 A5 G5 F5 E5
LC3 G3 G3 G3 G3
Bar 5
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 6
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 G3 G3 G3 G3
Bar 7
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 8
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 G3 G3 G3 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 Rural Route

What are the letter notes for the Rural Route 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 – C – D – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Rural Route?

The loop is D – C – D – C (II5 – I5 – II5 – I5) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Rural Route in?

C major, at about 92 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Rural Route?

Tiptoe seesaw: root–fifth 1-5-5-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Rural Route 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.