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Schindler's List: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By John Williams

  • Bb major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1993
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Power fifthsRight hand SunriseChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

Play the full song with sheet music

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 Schindler's List without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand sunrise.

The main tune of Schindler's List 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
Am7 → Dm
RC4+C5 D#4 C5 D#4 C4+G4+D5 C5 C4+F#4+Bb4 C5
LA2+D#3+G3 D2+A2+D3
Bar 2
Gm
RA4+D5 G4 F#4 G4 D4+D4
LG2+G2+D3+Bb3 D3+Bb3
Bar 3
Cm → Dm7
RC5 Eb4 C5 Eb4 G4+D5 C5 F#4+Bb4 A4
LA2+Eb3+G3 D3+D3 C4
Bar 4
Eb → Dm
RG3+D4+G4 C4 A3+Eb4+G4+A4 D4+F#4
LEb2+Bb2+Eb3 A2+G3 D3

Schindler's List accompaniment in letter notes

The Am7 – Dm – Gm – Cm – Dm7 – Eb – Dm loop with power fifths in the left hand and sunrise in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am7 → Dm
RA3 C4 E4 A3 F4 A4 D4 F4
LA2+E3 D3+A3 D3+A3
Bar 2
Gm
RG4 Bb4 D5 G4 Bb4 D5 G4 Bb4
LG2+D3 G3+D4 G3+D4
Bar 3
Cm → Dm7
RC4 Eb4 G4 C4 F4 A4 D4 F4
LC3+G3 D3+A3 D3+A3
Bar 4
Eb → Dm
REb4 G4 Bb4 Eb4 A6 F6 D6 A5 G#5 G5 F#5 F5
LEb2+Bb2 D3+A3 D3+A3
Bar 5
Am7 → Dm
RA3 C4 E4 A3 F4 A4 D4 F4
LA2+E3 D3+A3 D3+A3
Bar 6
Gm
RG4 Bb4 D5 G4 Bb4 D5 G4 Bb4
LG2+D3 G3+D4 G3+D4
Bar 7
Cm → Dm7
RC4 Eb4 G4 C4 F4 A4 D4 F4
LC3+G3 D3+A3 D3+A3
Bar 8
Eb → Dm
REb4 G4 Bb4 Eb4 F4 A4 D4 F4
LEb2+Bb2 D3+A3 D3+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 Schindler's List

What are the letter notes for the Schindler's List 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 Am7 – Dm – Gm – Cm – Dm7 – Eb – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Schindler's List?

The loop is Am7 – Dm – Gm – Cm – Dm7 – Eb – Dm (vii7 – iii – vi – ii – iii7 – IV – iii) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is Schindler's List in?

Bb major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Schindler's List?

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

Is Schindler's List easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 7 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Schindler's List?

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

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