Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Lullaby boat

Unchained Melody: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By The Righteous Brothers

  • Bb major
  • 6/8
  • 108 BPM
  • 1954
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Rowing-boat pulseThe right hand sings the tuneChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 Unchained Melody without reading music. The left hand plays rowing-boat pulse (root bass · 6/8 8ths), and the right hand sings the tune.

The main tune of Unchained Melody 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
Bb
RBb3 D4 F4 Bb4 F4 D4
LBb2
Bar 2
Bb
RBb3 D4 F4 Bb4 F4 D4
Lrest
Bar 3
Gm
RG3 Bb3 D4 G4 D4 Bb3
LG2
Bar 4
Gm
RG4 D4 Bb3 G3 Bb3 D4
Lrest

Unchained Melody accompaniment in letter notes

The Bb – Bb – Gm – Gm loop with rowing-boat pulse in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 2
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Gm
RG4+Bb4+D5
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 4
Gm
RG4+Bb4+D5 G4 Bb4 D5 G5 Bb5 D6
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 5
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 6
Bb
RBb3+D4+F4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Gm
RG4+Bb4+D5
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 8
Gm
RG4+Bb4+D5
LG2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2

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 Unchained Melody

What are the letter notes for the Unchained Melody 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 Bb – Bb – Gm – Gm, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Unchained Melody?

The loop is Bb – Bb – Gm – Gm (I – vi – I – vi) in Bb major, and the song ends on Gm – Eb – Bb.

What key is Unchained Melody in?

Bb major, at about 108 beats a minute in 6/8.

What does the left hand play in Unchained Melody?

Rowing-boat pulse: root bass · 6/8 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Unchained Melody easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Unchained Melody?

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

Made from 7 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.