Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

Wasted Time: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Vance Joy

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Double island chordsChords 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 Wasted Time without reading music. The left hand plays engine 8ths (root bass · 8ths) and the right hand double island chords.

Wasted Time accompaniment in letter notes

The F#m – E – D – A loop with engine 8ths in the left hand and double island chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F#m
RA4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 2
E
RG#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 3
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 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 4
A
RC#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#7 A6 E6 C#6 Bb5 A5 G#5 G5
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2
Bar 5
F#m
RA4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5
LF#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2 F#2
Bar 6
E
RG#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5 G#4+B4+E5
LE2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2 E2
Bar 7
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 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Bar 8
A
RC#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4
LA2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2 A2

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 Wasted Time

What are the letter notes for the Wasted Time 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 F#m – E – D – A, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Wasted Time?

The loop is F#m – E – D – A (vi – V – IV – I) in A major, and the song ends on E – D – A.

What key is Wasted Time in?

A major, at about 113 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Wasted Time?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Wasted Time 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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.