Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
What Goes On: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
Written by Robert Hirst & James Moginie
- C major
- 4/4
- 134 BPM
- IV–I–IV–I loop
- 1997
- Medium
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 What Goes On without reading music. The left hand plays gear-shift pulse (root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4 · 4&) and the right hand offbeat skank.
What Goes On accompaniment in letter notes
The F – C – F – C loop with gear-shift pulse in the left hand and offbeat skank 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 Robert Hirst & James Moginie
Questions about What Goes On
What are the letter notes for the What Goes On 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 – C – F – C, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in What Goes On?
The loop is F – C – F – C (IV – I – IV – I) in C major, and the song ends on C – F – C.
What key is What Goes On in?
C major, at about 134 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in What Goes On?
Gear-shift pulse: root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is What Goes On 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.