Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

Vincent: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Don McLean

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1971
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Rolling wavesRight 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 Vincent without reading music. The left hand plays rolling waves (open arpeggio 1-5-10-5) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

Vincent accompaniment in letter notes

The Am – C – D7 – G loop with rolling waves in the left hand and hopscotch bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am
RA4 C4+E4 C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3 A2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 2
C
RC5 E4+G4 E4+G4
LC3 G3 E4 G3 C3 G3 E4 G3
Bar 3
D7
RD5 F#4+A4 F#4+A4
LD2 A2 F#3 A2 D2 A2 F#3 A2
Bar 4
G
RG5 B4+D5 G4 B4 D5 G5 B5 D6 G6 B6
LG2 D3 B3 D3 G2 D3 B3 D3
Bar 5
Am
RA4 C4+E4 C4+E4
LA2 E3 C4 E3 A2 E3 C4 E3
Bar 6
C
RC5 E4+G4 E4+G4
LC3 G3 E4 G3 C3 G3 E4 G3
Bar 7
D7
RD5 F#4+A4 F#4+A4
LD2 A2 F#3 A2 D2 A2 F#3 A2
Bar 8
G
RG5 B4+D5 B4+D5
LG2 D3 B3 D3 G2 D3 B3 D3

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 Vincent

What are the letter notes for the Vincent 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 Am – C – D7 – G, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Vincent?

The loop is Am – C – D7 – G (ii – IV – V7 – I) in G major, and the song ends on Am – D7 – G.

What key is Vincent in?

G major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Vincent?

Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Vincent 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.

Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.