Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Bossa beach

True Grit: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Glen Campbell

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Island seesawRight hand Hopscotch bellsChords the loop the song repeats most

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 Grit without reading music. The left hand plays island seesaw (root–fifth 1-5-1) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

True Grit accompaniment in letter notes

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

Bar 1
Gm
RG5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LG2 D3 G2
Bar 2
C7
RC5 Bb3+E4+G4 Bb3+E4+G4
LC3 G3 C3
Bar 3
F
RF5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 F2
Bar 4
Dm
RD5 C4+F4+A4 E6 D6 C6 Bb5 A5 G5 F5 E5
LD2 A2 D2
Bar 5
Gm
RG5 F4+Bb4+D5 F4+Bb4+D5
LG2 D3 G2
Bar 6
C7
RC5 Bb3+E4+G4 Bb3+E4+G4
LC3 G3 C3
Bar 7
F
RF5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LF2 C3 F2
Bar 8
Dm
RD5 C4+F4+A4 C4+F4+A4
LD2 A2 D2

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.

Play next

Questions about True Grit

What are the letter notes for the True Grit 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 Gm – C7 – F – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in True Grit?

The loop is Gm – C7 – F – Dm (ii – V7 – I – vi) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is True Grit in?

F major, at about 114 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in True Grit?

Island seesaw: root–fifth 1-5-1, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is True Grit 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.