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So What: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Alecia Moore, Max Martin & others

  • F# minor
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 2008
  • Medium
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Left hand Hurrying footstepsRight hand Catch-up chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 So What without reading music. The left hand plays hurrying footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 · 4&) and the right hand catch-up chords.

So What accompaniment in letter notes

The A – C# – F# – D loop with hurrying footsteps in the left hand and catch-up chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 A3 A2 A2 A3 A2
Bar 2
C#
RG#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5
LC#3 C#4 C#3 C#3 C#4 C#3
Bar 3
F#
RC#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5
LF#2 F#3 F#2 F#2 F#3 F#2
Bar 4
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 D4 E4 F#4 G#4 A4 B4 C#5 D5
LD2 D3 D2 D2 D3 D2
Bar 5
A
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 A3 A2 A2 A3 A2
Bar 6
C#
RG#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5 G#4+C#5+E#5
LC#3 C#4 C#3 C#3 C#4 C#3
Bar 7
F#
RC#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5 C#5+F#5+A#5
LF#2 F#3 F#2 F#2 F#3 F#2
Bar 8
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D3 D2 D2 D3 D2

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 So What

What are the letter notes for the So What 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 A – C# – F# – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in So What?

The loop is A – C# – F# – D (bIII5 – V5 – I5 – bVI5) in F# minor, and the song ends on D – E – F#m.

What key is So What in?

F# minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in So What?

Hurrying footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is So What 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.