Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
What’d I Say?: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Ray Charles
- E major
- 4/4
- 160 BPM
- 1959
- Easy
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’d I Say? without reading music. The left hand plays three-step climb (broken chord 1-5-8) and the right hand gospel-clap chords.
The intro of What’d I Say? 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.
What’d I Say? accompaniment in letter notes
The E7 – E7 – B7 – A7 loop with three-step climb in the left hand and gospel-clap 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
Questions about What’d I Say?
What are the letter notes for the What’d I Say? 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 E7 – E7 – B7 – A7, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in What’d I Say??
The loop is E7 – E7 – B7 – A7 (I7 – V7 – IV7 – I7) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.
What key is What’d I Say? in?
E major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in What’d I Say??
Three-step climb: broken chord 1-5-8, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is What’d I Say? 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 What’d I Say??
Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro 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.