Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Simple As This: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Jake Kennedy & Matthew Prime

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Seesaw bassRight hand Offbeat skankChords 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 Simple As This without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5) and the right hand offbeat skank.

Simple As This accompaniment in letter notes

The Db – Eb – Ab – Fm loop with seesaw bass in the left hand and offbeat skank in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Db
RF4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3 Db3 Ab3
Bar 2
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 Eb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3 Ab2 Eb3
Bar 4
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 G4 Ab4 C5 D5 C5 Ab4 Ab4 F4
LF2 C3 F2 C3
Bar 5
Db
RF4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5 F4+Ab4+Cb4+Db5
LDb3 Ab3 Db3 Ab3
Bar 6
Eb
RG4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Db5+Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 Eb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Gb5+Ab5
LAb2 Eb3 Ab2 Eb3
Bar 8
Fm
RAb4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5 Ab4+C5+Eb5+F5
LF2 C3 F2 C3

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 Simple As This

What are the letter notes for the Simple As This 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 Db – Eb – Ab – Fm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Simple As This?

The loop is Db – Eb – Ab – Fm (IV – V – I – vi) in Ab major, and the song ends on Ab – Db – Ab.

What key is Simple As This in?

Ab major, at about 95 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in Simple As This?

Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Simple As This easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

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