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When We Were Young: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Adele

  • Eb major
  • 4/4
  • 72 BPM
  • 2015
  • Medium
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Left hand Power fifthsThe right hand sings the tuneChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

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 We Were Young without reading music. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths), and the right hand sings the tune.

The opening of When We Were Young 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.

Bar 1
Cm → Gm
RC4+Eb4 Bb3+Eb4
LC3+G3 G2+G3
Bar 2
Ab → Gm
RAb3+C4+Eb4 Bb3+Eb4
LAb2+Eb3 G2+G3
Bar 3
Fm → Fm7
RAb3+C4+Eb4
LF2+F3 G2 G2 F2
Bar 4
Eb
RG3+Bb3+Eb4
LEb2 C3 Bb2 G2 Bb2

When We Were Young accompaniment in letter notes

The Cm – Gm – Ab – Gm – Fm – Fm7 – Eb loop with power fifths in the left hand. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Cm → Gm
RC4+Eb4+G4 G4+Bb4+D5
LC4+G4 C4+G4 G2+D3 G2+D3
Bar 2
Ab → Gm
RAb4+C5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+D5
LAb3+Eb4 Ab3+Eb4 G2+D3 G2+D3
Bar 3
Fm → Fm7
RF4+Ab4+C5 F4+Ab4+C5
LF3+C4 F3+C4 F2+C3 F2+C3
Bar 4
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4 Bb6 G6 Eb6 Bb5 G5 Gb5 F5 Fb5
LEb3+Bb3 Eb3+Bb3 Eb2+Bb2 Eb2+Bb2
Bar 5
Cm → Gm
RC4+Eb4+G4 G4+Bb4+D5
LC4+G4 C4+G4 G2+D3 G2+D3
Bar 6
Ab → Gm
RAb4+C5+Eb5 G4+Bb4+D5
LAb3+Eb4 Ab3+Eb4 G2+D3 G2+D3
Bar 7
Fm → Fm7
RF4+Ab4+C5 F4+Ab4+C5
LF3+C4 F3+C4 F2+C3 F2+C3
Bar 8
Eb
REb4+G4+Bb4
LEb3+Bb3 Eb3+Bb3 Eb2+Bb2 Eb2+Bb2

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 We Were Young

What are the letter notes for the When We Were Young 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 Cm – Gm – Ab – Gm – Fm – Fm7 – Eb, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in When We Were Young?

The loop is Cm – Gm – Ab – Gm – Fm – Fm7 – Eb (vi – iii – IV – iii – ii – ii7 – I) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is When We Were Young in?

Eb major, at about 72 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in When We Were Young?

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

Is When We Were Young easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 7 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of When We Were Young?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the opening 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.