Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Lullaby boat

Stay Or Leave: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Dave Matthews

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Swelling 6/8The 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 Stay Or Leave without reading music. The left hand plays swelling 6/8 (open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.

Stay Or Leave accompaniment in letter notes

The Bm – D – A – G loop with swelling 6/8 in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4
LB2 F#3 B3 D4 B3 F#3
Bar 2
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 3
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 E3 A3 C#4 A3 E3
Bar 4
G
RG4+B4+D5 G4 B4 D5 G5 B5 D6
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3
Bar 5
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4
LB2 F#3 B3 D4 B3 F#3
Bar 6
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D3 F#3 D3 A2
Bar 7
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 E3 A3 C#4 A3 E3
Bar 8
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG2 D3 G3 B3 G3 D3

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

Questions about Stay Or Leave

What are the letter notes for the Stay Or Leave 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 Bm – D – A – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Stay Or Leave?

The loop is Bm – D – A – G (i – bIII – bVII – bVI) in B minor, and the song ends on G – A – Bm.

What key is Stay Or Leave in?

B minor, at about 68 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in Stay Or Leave?

Swelling 6/8: open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Stay Or Leave 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.