Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
There Once Was A Man: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
- Eb major
- 2/2
- 160 BPM
- IV–I–V7–I loop
- 1954
- Easy
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 There Once Was A Man without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand hopscotch bells.
There Once Was A Man accompaniment in letter notes
The Ab – Eb – Bb7 – Eb loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and hopscotch bells 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 There Once Was A Man
What are the letter notes for the There Once Was A Man 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 Ab – Eb – Bb7 – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in There Once Was A Man?
The loop is Ab – Eb – Bb7 – Eb (IV – I – V7 – I) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Bb7 – Eb.
What key is There Once Was A Man in?
Eb major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in There Once Was A Man?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is There Once Was A Man 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.