Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

You Keep Me Hangin’ On: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Glee Cast

  • A minor
  • 4/4
  • 125 BPM
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Doorbell ding-dongRight hand Ticking clockChords from the chord symbols in the score

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 You Keep Me Hangin’ On without reading music. The left hand plays doorbell ding-dong (broken chord 8-8-5-5) and the right hand ticking clock.

The repeating figure of You Keep Me Hangin’ On 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
A
RC#4+E4+A4 A4 A4 A4 A4 A4
LA2 A2 A2 E2 A2 E2 A2
Bar 2
G
RB3+E4 G4 G4 G4
LG2 G2 G2 D2 G2 D2 G2
Bar 3
G
RD4+G4+B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 C5
LD2 D2 D2 A1 C2 D2 G2
Bar 4
F → Am
RC4+F4 A4 A4 E4+A4+C5
LF2 F2 F2 E2 E2 G2 G#2

You Keep Me Hangin’ On accompaniment in letter notes

The A – G – G – F – Am loop with doorbell ding-dong in the left hand and ticking clock in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3
LA3 A3 E3 E3
Bar 2
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 G3 D3 D3
Bar 3
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 G3 D3 D3
Bar 4
F → Am
RF4 F4 F4 E4 A4 C5 E5 A5 C6 E6 A6
LF3 F3 E3 E3
Bar 5
A
RA3 A3 A3 A3 A3 A3
LA3 A3 E3 E3
Bar 6
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 G3 D3 D3
Bar 7
G
RG4 G4 G4 G4 G4 G4
LG3 G3 D3 D3
Bar 8
F → Am
RF4 F4 F4 A3 A3 A3
LF3 F3 E3 E3

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 You Keep Me Hangin’ On

What are the letter notes for the You Keep Me Hangin’ On 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 A – G – G – F – Am, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in You Keep Me Hangin’ On?

The loop is A – G – G – F – Am (I – VII – VI – i – I) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.

What key is You Keep Me Hangin’ On in?

A minor, at about 125 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in You Keep Me Hangin’ On?

Doorbell ding-dong: broken chord 8-8-5-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is You Keep Me Hangin’ On easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of You Keep Me Hangin’ On?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.