Spirit In The Sky: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Norman Greenbaum

A major
4/4
120 BPM
1970
Medium

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

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 Spirit In The Sky without reading music. The left hand plays double-skip footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4&) and the right hand running-late chords.

The intro of Spirit In The Sky 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.

Bar 1
ARA3+A4 A3+A4 A3+A4 A3+A4
LA1 A1 A1 A1

Bar 2
A → D → CRA4 A3 D4 A4 C4 A4
LA1 A1 D2 C2

Bar 3
ARA3+A4 A3+A4 A3+A4 A3+A4
LA1 A1 A1 A1

Bar 4
A → C → DRA4 A3 C4 A4 D4 A4
LA1 A1 C2 D2

Spirit In The Sky accompaniment in letter notes

The A – A – D – C – A – A – C – D loop with double-skip footsteps in the left hand and running-late chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
ARE4+A4+C#5 E4+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
A → D → CRE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 A4+D5+F#5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LA2 A3 A2 D2 C4 C3

Bar 3
ARE4+A4+C#5 E4+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 4
A → C → DRE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 D4 E4 F#4 Ab4 A4 B4 C#5 D5
LA2 A3 A2 C3 D3 D2

Bar 5
ARE4+A4+C#5 E4+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
A → D → CRE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 A4+D5+F#5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LA2 A3 A2 D2 C4 C3

Bar 7
ARE4+A4+C#5 E4+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 8
A → C → DRE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 G4+C5+E5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LA2 A3 A2 C3 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.

Play next

The same left hand: Double-skip footsteps

About this pattern

Questions about Spirit In The Sky

What are the letter notes for the Spirit In The Sky 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 – A – D – C – A – A – C – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Spirit In The Sky?

The loop is A – A – D – C – A – A – C – D (I – IV – bIII – I – bIII – IV – I – IV) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Spirit In The Sky in?

A major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Spirit In The Sky?

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

Is Spirit In The Sky easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 8 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Spirit In The Sky?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.