Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
Sam Stone: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by John Prine
- F major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- IV–V7–I–IV loop
- 1971
- Medium
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 Sam Stone without reading music. The left hand plays gentle rocking (broken chord 1-5-8-5) and the right hand ticking clock.
Sam Stone accompaniment in letter notes
The Bb – C7 – F – Bb loop with gentle rocking in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Sam Stone
What are the letter notes for the Sam Stone 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 Bb – C7 – F – Bb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Sam Stone?
The loop is Bb – C7 – F – Bb (IV – V7 – I – IV) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C7 – F.
What key is Sam Stone in?
F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Sam Stone?
Gentle rocking: broken chord 1-5-8-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Sam Stone 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.