Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

What Was I Thinkin’: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Dierks Bentley

  • Ab major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Walking rootsRight hand Pop stabsChords 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 What Was I Thinkin’ without reading music. The left hand plays walking roots (root bass · quarters) and the right hand pop stabs.

What Was I Thinkin’ accompaniment in letter notes

The F – Cm – Bb – Ab loop with walking roots in the left hand and pop stabs in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3 F3
Bar 2
Cm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C4 C4
Bar 3
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb3 Bb3
Bar 4
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 Bb4 C5 Db5 Eb5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab3 Ab3
Bar 5
F
RA4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5 A4+C5+F5
LF2 F2 F3 F3
Bar 6
Cm
REb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5 Eb4+G4+C5
LC3 C3 C4 C4
Bar 7
Bb
RD4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4 D4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb3 Bb3
Bar 8
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab3 Ab3

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 What Was I Thinkin’

What are the letter notes for the What Was I Thinkin’ 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 – Cm – Bb – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in What Was I Thinkin’?

The loop is F – Cm – Bb – Ab (VI5 – iii – II – I) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is What Was I Thinkin’ in?

Ab major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in What Was I Thinkin’?

Walking roots: root bass · quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is What Was I Thinkin’ 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.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.