Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
Stand By Me: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By John Lennon
- A major
- 4/4
- 90 BPM
- I–vi–IV–V loop
- Easy
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 Stand By Me without reading music. The left hand plays double-tap drop (broken chord 8-8-5) and the right hand offbeat skank.
Stand By Me accompaniment in letter notes
The A – F#m – D – E loop with double-tap drop in the left hand and offbeat skank 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 Stand By Me
What are the letter notes for the Stand By Me 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 – F#m – D – E, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Stand By Me?
The loop is A – F#m – D – E (I – vi – IV – V) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is Stand By Me in?
A major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Stand By Me?
Double-tap drop: broken chord 8-8-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Stand By Me easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.