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The English Patient: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Gabriel Yared

  • D major
  • 3/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1996
  • Easy
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Left hand Oom-pah-pahRight hand Waltz chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 The English Patient without reading music. The left hand plays oom-pah-pah (waltz oom-pah-pah) and the right hand waltz chords.

The English Patient accompaniment in letter notes

The C – Bm – A – Am loop with oom-pah-pah in the left hand and waltz chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RC4+E4+G4 C4+E4+G4 C4+E4+G4
LC3 E3+G3 E3+G3
Bar 2
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4 B3+D4+F#4 B3+D4+F#4
LB2 D3+F#3 D3+F#3
Bar 3
A
RA3+C#4+E4 A3+C#4+E4 A3+C#4+E4
LA2 C#3+E3 C#3+E3
Bar 4
Am
RA3+C4+E4 E4 A4 C5 E5 A5 C6 E6 A6
LA2 C3+E3 C3+E3
Bar 5
C
RC4+E4+G4 C4+E4+G4 C4+E4+G4
LC3 E3+G3 E3+G3
Bar 6
Bm
RB3+D4+F#4 B3+D4+F#4 B3+D4+F#4
LB2 D3+F#3 D3+F#3
Bar 7
A
RA3+C#4+E4 A3+C#4+E4 A3+C#4+E4
LA2 C#3+E3 C#3+E3
Bar 8
Am
RA3+C4+E4 A3+C4+E4 A3+C4+E4
LA2 C3+E3 C3+E3

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.

Questions about The English Patient

What are the letter notes for the The English Patient 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 C – Bm – A – Am, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The English Patient?

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

What key is The English Patient in?

D major, at about 100 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in The English Patient?

Oom-pah-pah: waltz oom-pah-pah, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The English Patient 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.