Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Shameless: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Billy Joel

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Hop-back bounceRight 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 Shameless without reading music. The left hand plays hop-back bounce (broken chord 8-5-8-8) and the right hand ticking clock.

Shameless accompaniment in letter notes

The G – D – Em – C loop with hop-back bounce in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 D3 G3 G3
Bar 2
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD3 A2 D3 D3
Bar 3
Em
RE4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4
LE3 B2 E3 E3
Bar 4
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 E4 G4 C5 E5 G5 C6 E6 G6
LC4 G3 C4 C4
Bar 5
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 D3 G3 G3
Bar 6
D
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD3 A2 D3 D3
Bar 7
Em
RE4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4 E4
LE3 B2 E3 E3
Bar 8
C
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC4 G3 C4 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 Shameless

What are the letter notes for the Shameless 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 G – D – Em – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Shameless?

The loop is G – D – Em – C (I – V – vi – IV) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is Shameless in?

G major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Shameless?

Hop-back bounce: broken chord 8-5-8-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Shameless 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.