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When In Rome: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Cy Coleman

  • C major
  • 2/2
  • 100 BPM
  • 1964
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Skipping-stone pulseRight hand Push 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 When In Rome without reading music. The left hand plays skipping-stone pulse (root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&) and the right hand push chords.

When In Rome accompaniment in letter notes

The Ab – Bbm – Eb7 – Ab loop with skipping-stone pulse in the left hand and push chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 2
Bbm
RDb4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 3
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 4
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 D4 Fb4 F4 G4 Bbb4 Cb4 C5 D5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 5
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2
Bar 6
Bbm
RDb4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4 Db4+F4+Bb4
LBb2 Bb2 Bb2
Bar 7
Eb7
RG4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5 G4+Bb4+Eb5
LEb2 Eb2 Eb2
Bar 8
Ab
RC5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5 C5+Eb5+Ab5
LAb2 Ab2 Ab2

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 When In Rome

What are the letter notes for the When In Rome 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 Ab – Bbm – Eb7 – Ab, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in When In Rome?

The loop is Ab – Bbm – Eb7 – Ab (bVI – bvii – bIII7 – bVI) in C major, and the song ends on C – Dm – C.

What key is When In Rome in?

C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in When In Rome?

Skipping-stone pulse: root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is When In Rome 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.