Piano chords · Blues & boogie
Yesterday: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By The Beatles
- F major
- 4/4
- 86 BPM
- 1965
- 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 Yesterday without reading music. The left hand plays jazz walk (walking bass) and the right hand freeze-tag chords.
The main tune of Yesterday 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.
Yesterday accompaniment in letter notes
The Em7 – Am7 – Dm – Dm7 – Bb – C7 – F loop with jazz walk in the left hand and freeze-tag 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.
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Questions about Yesterday
What are the letter notes for the Yesterday 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 Em7 – Am7 – Dm – Dm7 – Bb – C7 – F, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in Yesterday?
The loop is Em7 – Am7 – Dm – Dm7 – Bb – C7 – F (vii7 – iii7 – vi – vi7 – IV – V7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Yesterday in?
F major, at about 86 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Yesterday?
Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Yesterday easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 7 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Can I hear the real melody of Yesterday?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 7 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.