Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
True Colors: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly
- F major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1986
- 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 True Colors without reading music. The left hand plays island pulse (root bass · tresillo 3-3-2) and the right hand push chords.
The bass riff of True Colors 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.
True Colors accompaniment in letter notes
The Dm – C – F – C7 – Dm – C – F – C loop with island pulse in the left hand and push 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 True Colors
What are the letter notes for the True Colors 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 Dm – C – F – C7 – Dm – C – F – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in True Colors?
The loop is Dm – C – F – C7 – Dm – C – F – C (vi – V – I – V7 – vi – V – I – V) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is True Colors in?
F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in True Colors?
Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is True Colors easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 8 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Can I hear the real melody of True Colors?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the bass riff of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.