Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
Surf’s Up Tonight: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by James Moginie & Peter Garrett
- E major
- 4/4
- 118 BPM
- I–IV–iv–I loop
- 1997
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
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 Surf’s Up Tonight without reading music. The left hand plays hurrying footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 · 4&) and the right hand lingering chords.
Surf’s Up Tonight accompaniment in letter notes
The E – A – Am – E loop with hurrying footsteps in the left hand and lingering 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 Surf’s Up Tonight
What are the letter notes for the Surf’s Up Tonight 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 E – A – Am – E, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Surf’s Up Tonight?
The loop is E – A – Am – E (I – IV – iv – I) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.
What key is Surf’s Up Tonight in?
E major, at about 118 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Surf’s Up Tonight?
Hurrying footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Surf’s Up Tonight 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.