Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

Talking In Your Sleep: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Gordon Lightfoot

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Seesaw bassThe 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 Talking In Your Sleep without reading music. The left hand plays seesaw bass (root–fifth 1-5-1-5), and the right hand sings the tune.

Talking In Your Sleep accompaniment in letter notes

The D – A – Bm – D loop with seesaw bass in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2
Bar 2
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 E3 A2 E3 A2 E3 A2 E3
Bar 3
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4
LB2 F#3 B2 F#3 B2 F#3 B2 F#3
Bar 4
D
RD4+F#4+A4 F5 F#5 A5 B5 A5 F#5 F5 D5
LD2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2
Bar 5
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2
Bar 6
A
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 E3 A2 E3 A2 E3 A2 E3
Bar 7
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4
LB2 F#3 B2 F#3 B2 F#3 B2 F#3
Bar 8
D
RD4+F#4+A4
LD2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2 D2 A2

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 Talking In Your Sleep

What are the letter notes for the Talking In Your Sleep 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 D – A – Bm – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Talking In Your Sleep?

The loop is D – A – Bm – D (I – V – vi – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Talking In Your Sleep in?

D major, at about 96 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Talking In Your Sleep?

Seesaw bass: root–fifth 1-5-1-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Talking In Your Sleep 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.