Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
Thriller: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Rod Temperton
- C# minor
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 1982
- 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 Thriller without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand pausing chords.
Thriller accompaniment in letter notes
The C#m – E – F# – C#m loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and pausing chords 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 Thriller
What are the letter notes for the Thriller 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 C#m – E – F# – C#m, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Thriller?
The loop is C#m – E – F# – C#m (i – bIII – IV – i) in C# minor, and the song ends on A – B – C#m.
What key is Thriller in?
C# minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Thriller?
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 Thriller 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.