Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
The Payback: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by James Brown, Fred Wesley & others
- C major
- 4/4
- 92 BPM
- 1973
- Easy
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 Payback without reading music. The left hand plays hop-skip heartbeat (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4&) and the right hand swing push.
The Payback accompaniment in letter notes
The Am – C – D – Am loop with hop-skip heartbeat in the left hand and swing push 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 Payback
What are the letter notes for the The Payback 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 – C – D – Am, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in The Payback?
The loop is Am – C – D – Am (vi – I – II – vi) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is The Payback in?
C major, at about 92 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in The Payback?
Hop-skip heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Payback 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.