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This Can’t Be Love: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Rodgers & Hart

  • G major
  • 2/2
  • 120 BPM
  • 1938
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Island pulseRight hand Hopscotch bellsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 This Can’t Be Love without reading music. The left hand plays island pulse (root bass · tresillo 3-3-2) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

The catchy part of This Can’t Be Love in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G
RG4 B3+D4+E4 F#4 B3+E4+G4
LG2 D2+D3
Bar 2
G
RD4 B3+E4+G4 F#4 B3+E4+G4
LG2 D2+D3
Bar 3
C7
RE4 G3+Bb3 G4 Bb3+E4+A4
LC3 C2
Bar 4
C7
RBb3+E4 Bb3+E4+G4
LC3 C2

This Can’t Be Love accompaniment in letter notes

The G – G – C7 – C7 loop with island pulse in the left hand and hopscotch bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
G
RG5 B4+D5 B4+D5
LG2 G2 G2
Bar 2
G
RG5 B4+D5 B4+D5
LG2 G2 G2
Bar 3
C7
RC5 E4+G4 E4+G4
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 4
C7
RC5 E4+G4 C4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C5
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 5
G
RG5 B4+D5 B4+D5
LG2 G2 G2
Bar 6
G
RG5 B4+D5 B4+D5
LG2 G2 G2
Bar 7
C7
RC5 E4+G4 E4+G4
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 8
C7
RC5 E4+G4 E4+G4
LC3 C3 C3

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 This Can’t Be Love

What are the letter notes for the This Can’t Be Love 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 G – G – C7 – C7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in This Can’t Be Love?

The loop is G – G – C7 – C7 (I – IV7 – I – IV7) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is This Can’t Be Love in?

G major, at about 120 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in This Can’t Be Love?

Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is This Can’t Be Love 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.

Can I hear the real melody of This Can’t Be Love?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the catchy part of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.