Piano chords · Rock drive
The Only Way I Know: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by David Lee Murphy & Ben Hayslip
- C major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- vi–II–vi–II loop
- 2012
- Medium
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 Only Way I Know without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand ticking clock.
The Only Way I Know accompaniment in letter notes
The Am – D – Am – D loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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 Only Way I Know
What are the letter notes for the The Only Way I Know 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 Am – D – Am – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in The Only Way I Know?
The loop is Am – D – Am – D (vi – II – vi – II) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is The Only Way I Know in?
C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in The Only Way I Know?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Only Way I Know 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.