Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Simple Life: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Carolyn Dawn Johnson

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Left hand Ping-pong bounceRight hand Pumping chordsChords 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 Life without reading music. The left hand plays ping-pong bounce (broken chord 8-5) and the right hand pumping chords.

Simple Life accompaniment in letter notes

The D – Bm – A – G loop with ping-pong bounce in the left hand and pumping chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD3 A2 D3 A2
Bar 2
Bm
RF#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5
LB3 F#3 B3 F#3
Bar 3
A
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA3 E3 A3 E3
Bar 4
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 G4 B4 D5 G5 B5 D6 G6 B6
LG3 D3 G3 D3
Bar 5
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD3 A2 D3 A2
Bar 6
Bm
RF#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5
LB3 F#3 B3 F#3
Bar 7
A
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA3 E3 A3 E3
Bar 8
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG3 D3 G3 D3

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 Life

What are the letter notes for the Simple Life 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 D – Bm – A – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Simple Life?

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

What key is Simple Life in?

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

What does the left hand play in Simple Life?

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

Is Simple Life 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.