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Piano chords · Rock drive

We Shall Overcome: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Artist unknown

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Style

Left hand Power fifthsRight hand Steady 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 We Shall Overcome without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand steady chords.

We Shall Overcome accompaniment in letter notes

The C – F – C – F loop with power fifths in the left hand and steady chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC4+G4 C4+G4 C3+G3 C3+G3
Bar 2
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3+C4 F3+C4 F2+C3 F2+C3
Bar 3
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC4+G4 C4+G4 C3+G3 C3+G3
Bar 4
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A6 F6 C6 A5 Ab5 G5 Gb5 F5
LF3+C4 F3+C4 F2+C3 F2+C3
Bar 5
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC4+G4 C4+G4 C3+G3 C3+G3
Bar 6
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3+C4 F3+C4 F2+C3 F2+C3
Bar 7
C
RE4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5 E4+G4+C5
LC4+G4 C4+G4 C3+G3 C3+G3
Bar 8
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF3+C4 F3+C4 F2+C3 F2+C3

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 We Shall Overcome

What are the letter notes for the We Shall Overcome 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 C – F – C – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in We Shall Overcome?

The loop is C – F – C – F (I – IV – I – IV) in C major, and the song ends on C – F – C.

What key is We Shall Overcome in?

C major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in We Shall Overcome?

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

Is We Shall Overcome 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.