Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

Xscape: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

Written by Michael Jackson, Lashawn Daniels & others

  • D major
  • 4/4
  • 110 BPM
  • 2014
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Skipping-stone pulseRight hand Ticking clockChords 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 Xscape without reading music. The left hand plays skipping-stone pulse (root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&) and the right hand ticking clock.

Xscape accompaniment in letter notes

The D7 – Gm – C7 – D7 loop with skipping-stone pulse in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
D7
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 2
Gm
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 G2 G2
Bar 3
C7
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 4
D7
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 C#5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 5
D7
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 6
Gm
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 G2 G2
Bar 7
C7
RC4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4 C4
LC3 C3 C3
Bar 8
D7
RD4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4 D4
LD2 D2 D2

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 Xscape

What are the letter notes for the Xscape 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 D7 – Gm – C7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Xscape?

The loop is D7 – Gm – C7 – D7 (I7 – iv – bVII7 – I7) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Xscape in?

D major, at about 110 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Xscape?

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

Is Xscape 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.