Piano chords · Rock drive
Speak Low: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Kurt Weill
- F major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1943
- Medium
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 Speak Low without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand soft chords.
The repeating figure of Speak Low in letter notes
The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.
Speak Low accompaniment in letter notes
The Gm7 – C7 – F – D7 – Bbm loop with power fifths in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Speak Low
What are the letter notes for the Speak Low 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 Gm7 – C7 – F – D7 – Bbm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Speak Low?
The loop is Gm7 – C7 – F – D7 – Bbm (ii7 – V7 – I – VI7 – iv) in F major, and the song ends on G7 – C7 – F.
What key is Speak Low in?
F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Speak Low?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Speak Low easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Speak Low?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.