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The Golden Road: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Grateful Dead

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Late-hop footstepsRight hand Pumping 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 The Golden Road without reading music. The left hand plays late-hop footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4) and the right hand pumping chords.

The Golden Road accompaniment in letter notes

The D – C – G – D loop with late-hop footsteps in the left hand and pumping chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D3 D2 D2 D3
Bar 2
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 3
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 4
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C#5
LD2 D3 D2 D2 D3
Bar 5
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D3 D2 D2 D3
Bar 6
C
RG4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5 G4+C5+E5
LC3 C4 C3 C3 C4
Bar 7
G
RD5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5 D5+G5+B5
LG2 G3 G2 G2 G3
Bar 8
D
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D3 D2 D2 D3

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 The Golden Road

What are the letter notes for the The Golden Road 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 – C – G – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in The Golden Road?

The loop is D – C – G – D (I – bVII – IV – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is The Golden Road in?

D major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in The Golden Road?

Late-hop footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Golden Road 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.