Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Wake Me Up: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Norah Jones

  • B minor
  • 4/4
  • 124 BPM
  • 2007
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Walking rootsRight hand Groovy chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 Wake Me Up without reading music. The left hand plays walking roots (root bass · quarters) and the right hand groovy chords.

The main tune of Wake Me Up 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
Bm → G
RD4+B4 B4 A4 D4+B4 D5 B4 A4 B4 A4
LB2 B2 B2 B2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 2
D → F#
RF#4+D5 D5 D5 E5 D5 E5 A#4+C#5+F#5 D5
LD3 D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 F#2 F#2
Bar 3
Bm → G
RD4+B4 B4 A4 D4+B4 D5 B4 A4 B4 A4
LB2 B2 B2 B2 G2 G2 G2 G2
Bar 4
D
RF#4+D5 D5 D5 E5 D5 E5 A4+F#5 D5
LD3 D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 A2 A2

Wake Me Up accompaniment in letter notes

The Bm – G – D – F# – Bm – G – D loop with walking roots in the left hand and groovy chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Bm → G
RD4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LB2 B2 G3 G3
Bar 2
D → F#
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 A#4+C#5+F#5
LD2 D2 D3 F#3
Bar 3
Bm → G
RD4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LB2 B2 G3 G3
Bar 4
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C#5
LD2 D2 D3 D3
Bar 5
Bm → G
RD4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LB2 B2 G3 G3
Bar 6
D → F#
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 A#4+C#5+F#5
LD2 D2 D3 F#3
Bar 7
Bm → G
RD4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 D4+F#4+B4 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5 B4+D5+G5
LB2 B2 G3 G3
Bar 8
D
RF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5
LD2 D2 D3 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 Wake Me Up

What are the letter notes for the Wake Me Up 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 Bm – G – D – F# – Bm – G – D, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Wake Me Up?

The loop is Bm – G – D – F# – Bm – G – D (i – VI – III – V – i – VI – III) in B minor, and the song ends on G – A – Bm.

What key is Wake Me Up in?

B minor, at about 124 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Wake Me Up?

Walking roots: root bass · quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Wake Me Up easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 7 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Wake Me Up?

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

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.