Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
We Are Family: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards
- Bb major
- 4/4
- 150 BPM
- 1979
- Easy
Play the full song with sheet music
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 We Are Family without reading music. The left hand plays dawdling footsteps (root bass · 1 · 2 · 3& · 4) and the right hand run-up chords.
The repeating figure of We Are Family 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.
We Are Family accompaniment in letter notes
The Bb7 – Ab7 – Eb7 – Ab7 loop with dawdling footsteps in the left hand and run-up chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
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
More by Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards
Questions about We Are Family
What are the letter notes for the We Are Family 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 Bb7 – Ab7 – Eb7 – Ab7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in We Are Family?
The loop is Bb7 – Ab7 – Eb7 – Ab7 (I7 – bVII7 – IV7 – bVII7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.
What key is We Are Family in?
Bb major, at about 150 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in We Are Family?
Dawdling footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is We Are Family 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.
Can I hear the real melody of We Are Family?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.