Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Slow dance ’50s

That’s Life: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Artist unknown

  • G major
  • 12/8
  • 80 BPM
  • 1964
  • Medium
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Left hand Jukebox leapsThe 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 That’s Life without reading music. The left hand plays jukebox leaps (stride (12/8)), and the right hand sings the tune.

That’s Life accompaniment in letter notes

The G – B7 – Em – A7 loop with jukebox leaps in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG2 G3+B3 G2 G3+B3
Bar 2
B7
RB3+D#4+F#4
LB2 B3+D#4 B2 B3+D#4
Bar 3
Em
RE4+G4+B4
LE2 E3+G3 E2 E3+G3
Bar 4
A7
RA3+C#4+E4 E4 G4 A4 C#5 E5 G5 A5 C#6 E6 G6 A6 C#7
LA2 A3+C#4 A2 A3+C#4
Bar 5
G
RG4+B4+D5
LG2 G3+B3 G2 G3+B3
Bar 6
B7
RB3+D#4+F#4
LB2 B3+D#4 B2 B3+D#4
Bar 7
Em
RE4+G4+B4
LE2 E3+G3 E2 E3+G3
Bar 8
A7
RA3+C#4+E4
LA2 A3+C#4 A2 A3+C#4

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 That’s Life

What are the letter notes for the That’s Life 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 G – B7 – Em – A7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in That’s Life?

The loop is G – B7 – Em – A7 (I – III7 – vi – II7) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is That’s Life in?

G major, at about 80 beats a minute in 12/8.

What does the left hand play in That’s Life?

Jukebox leaps: stride (12/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is That’s Life 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.