Piano chords · Rock drive

We Are The World: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By USA For Africa

A major
4/4
64 BPM
1985
Medium

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

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 The World without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand pausing chords.

The main tune of We Are The World 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
D → ERD4 F#4 D4 F#4 A4 E4+G#4 A4 B4 G#4 F#4
LD3+A3 E3+B3

Bar 2
A → C#mRB3+C#4+E4 B3 C#4 C#5 E5
LA2 E3 A2 E3 G#2

Bar 3
F#mRA4+F#5 C#5 A4+C#5 G#4+A4+C#5 A4+F#5
LF#2 C#3 A3 F#2

Bar 4
C#m → C#m7RG#4+E5 F#5 E5 D5 G#4+B4+C#5 B4 D4+A4
LC#3 G#3 E4 C#3

We Are The World accompaniment in letter notes

The D – E – A – C#m – F#m – C#m – C#m7 loop with power fifths in the left hand and pausing chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D → ERF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 G#4+B4+E5
LD3+A3 D3+A3 E2+B2 E2+B2

Bar 2
A → C#mRC#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 E4+G#4+C#5
LA3+E4 A3+E4 C#3+G#3 C#3+G#3

Bar 3
F#mRA4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5
LF#3+C#4 F#3+C#4 F#2+C#3 F#2+C#3

Bar 4
C#m → C#m7RE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E6 C#6 B5 G#5 F#5 E#5 E5 D#5
LC#4+G#4 C#4+G#4 C#3+G#3 C#3+G#3

Bar 5
D → ERF#4+A4+D5 F#4+A4+D5 G#4+B4+E5
LD3+A3 D3+A3 E2+B2 E2+B2

Bar 6
A → C#mRC#4+E4+A4 C#4+E4+A4 E4+G#4+C#5
LA3+E4 A3+E4 C#3+G#3 C#3+G#3

Bar 7
F#mRA4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5 A4+C#5+F#5
LF#3+C#4 F#3+C#4 F#2+C#3 F#2+C#3

Bar 8
C#m → C#m7RE4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5 E4+G#4+C#5
LC#4+G#4 C#4+G#4 C#3+G#3 C#3+G#3

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

The same left hand: Power fifths

About this pattern

Questions about We Are The World

What are the letter notes for the We Are The World 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 D – E – A – C#m – F#m – C#m – C#m7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in We Are The World?

The loop is D – E – A – C#m – F#m – C#m – C#m7 (IV – V – I – iii – vi – iii – iii7) in A major, and the song ends on A – G – A.

What key is We Are The World in?

A major, at about 64 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in We Are The World?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is We Are The World 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 We Are The World?

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.