Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Classical salon

Tell Me Why: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By The Beatles

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Little stepsRight hand Soft chordsChords 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 Tell Me Why without reading music. The left hand plays little steps (broken chord 1-3-5-3) and the right hand soft chords.

Tell Me Why accompaniment in letter notes

The Bm – Em – A7 – D loop with little steps in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bm
RF#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5
LB2 D3 F#3 D3
Bar 2
Em
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5
LE2 G2 B2 G2
Bar 3
A7
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 C#3 E3 C#3
Bar 4
D
RA4+D5+F#5 B4 A4 G4 A4 E5 D5 C#5 D5
LD2 F#2 A2 F#2
Bar 5
Bm
RF#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5 F#4+B4+D5
LB2 D3 F#3 D3
Bar 6
Em
RB4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5 B4+E5+G5
LE2 G2 B2 G2
Bar 7
A7
RE4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5 E4+A4+C#5
LA2 C#3 E3 C#3
Bar 8
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 F#2 A2 F#2

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 Tell Me Why

What are the letter notes for the Tell Me Why 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 – Em – A7 – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Tell Me Why?

The loop is Bm – Em – A7 – D (vi – ii – V7 – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Tell Me Why in?

D major, at about 156 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Tell Me Why?

Little steps: broken chord 1-3-5-3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Tell Me Why 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.