Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Russian Roulette: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Rihanna

  • F# minor
  • 4/4
  • 80 BPM
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Galloping heartbeatThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 Russian Roulette without reading music. The left hand plays galloping heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 1a · 2 · 3 · 3a · 4), and the right hand sings the tune.

Russian Roulette accompaniment in letter notes

The F#m – D – Bm – C# loop with galloping heartbeat in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F#m
RF#4+A4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 2
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 3
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4
LB2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2
Bar 4
C#
RC#4+E#4+G#4 E4 F#4 G#4 A4 B4 C#5 D5 E5
LC#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3
Bar 5
F#m
RF#4+A4+C#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 6
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 7
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4
LB2 B2 B2 B2 B2 B2
Bar 8
C#
RC#4+E#4+G#4
LC#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3 C#3

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

Questions about Russian Roulette

What are the letter notes for the Russian Roulette 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 F#m – D – Bm – C#, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Russian Roulette?

The loop is F#m – D – Bm – C# (i – bVI – iv – V) in F# minor, and the song ends on D – E – F#m.

What key is Russian Roulette in?

F# minor, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Russian Roulette?

Galloping heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 1a · 2 · 3 · 3a · 4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Russian Roulette 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.