Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Film & wonder

Southbound Train: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Julie Gold

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • Tricky
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Big sweepThe right hand sings the tuneChords 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 Southbound Train without reading music. The left hand plays big sweep (wide arpeggio 8-12-15-1-5-8), and the right hand sings the tune.

Southbound Train accompaniment in letter notes

The F – F – Bb – F loop with big sweep in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 C4 F4 F2 C3 F3
Bar 2
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 C4 F4 F2 C3 F3
Bar 3
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb3 F4 Bb4 Bb2 F3 Bb3
Bar 4
F
RF4+A4+C5 F6 C6 A5 F5 C5 A4 F4 C4
LF3 C4 F4 F2 C3 F3
Bar 5
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 C4 F4 F2 C3 F3
Bar 6
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 C4 F4 F2 C3 F3
Bar 7
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb3 F4 Bb4 Bb2 F3 Bb3
Bar 8
F
RF4+A4+C5
LF3 C4 F4 F2 C3 F3

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 Southbound Train

What are the letter notes for the Southbound Train 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 F – F – Bb – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Southbound Train?

The loop is F – F – Bb – F (I5 – I – IV – I5) in F major, and the song ends on C – Bb – F.

What key is Southbound Train in?

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

What does the left hand play in Southbound Train?

Big sweep: wide arpeggio 8-12-15-1-5-8, a tricky pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Southbound Train easy to play on piano?

It is a tricky 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.