Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

San Francisco: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Vanessa Carlton

  • C major
  • 2/2
  • 160 BPM
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsRight hand Steady chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 San Francisco without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand steady chords.

The repeating figure of San Francisco in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C → Cmaj7
RC4+E4+G4 C4+E4 B3+E4+G4 B3+E4
LC2+C3 G1+G2
Bar 2
C7
RBb3+E4 Bb3+E4+G4 Bb3+D4 C4
LC2+C3 C3+F3 E3
Bar 3
F
RA3+F4+A4 B3+G4+B4 C4+A4+C5 D4+F4+A4+D5
LF2+C3 C2
Bar 4
F → F7
RC4+F4+A4+C5 A3+C4+Eb4+A4 A3+C4+Eb4
LF2 F2+Eb3

San Francisco accompaniment in letter notes

The C – Cmaj7 – C7 – F – F – F7 loop with power fifths in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C → Cmaj7
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3+G3 C4+G4 C4+G4
Bar 2
C7
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3+G3 C4+G4 C4+G4
Bar 3
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2+C3 F3+C4 F3+C4
Bar 4
F → F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 F6 Eb6 C6 A5 Ab5 G5 Gb5 F5
LF2+C3 F3+C4 F3+C4
Bar 5
C → Cmaj7
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3+G3 C4+G4 C4+G4
Bar 6
C7
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC3+G3 C4+G4 C4+G4
Bar 7
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2+C3 F3+C4 F3+C4
Bar 8
F → F7
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2+C3 F3+C4 F3+C4

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 San Francisco

What are the letter notes for the San Francisco 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 C – Cmaj7 – C7 – F – F – F7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in San Francisco?

The loop is C – Cmaj7 – C7 – F – F – F7 (I – Imaj7 – I7 – IV – IV7 – I) in C major, and the song ends on C – F – C.

What key is San Francisco in?

C major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in San Francisco?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is San Francisco easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 6 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of San Francisco?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.