Let It Be by The Beatles

Overview

Key: C major · Meter: 4/4 · Core harmony: I – V – vi – IV

The official sheet music, Hooktheory and ChordU all agree that "Let It Be" is in C major, and the top-rated Ultimate Guitar chart plays it in C with no capo. Everything sits almost entirely on the white keys, which makes it one of the most popular first songs for piano players.

How to read this page: chord symbols come from the sources listed under Sources & Accuracy. Where sources report different chords for the same spot, the visualizer shows every reported version so you can compare them by ear. Consecutive repeats of the same chord are shown once. The piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.

Where the sources differ

Spot	Ultimate Guitar	Hooktheory
Verse, 6th chord	F6	Dm7/F (ii⁶₅)
Chorus	Am – G – F – C	Am7 – Em7/G – Fmaj7 – C
Instrumental, 2nd chord	C/E	Em (iii)

These are mostly differences in detail, not disagreements. F6 (F–A–C–D) and Dm7/F (F–A–C–D) are literally the same four notes with different names. Hooktheory's chorus adds 7ths that the guitar chart leaves out. The one genuine difference is C/E vs. Em in the instrumental: both chords share E and G and differ in a single note (C vs. B).

Song form

The top-rated Ultimate Guitar chart lays out the song as Intro → Verse 1 → Chorus → Verse 2 → Chorus ×2 → Instrumental → Solo → Chorus → Verse 3 → Chorus ×3 → Outro. The intro and solo reuse the verse progression, and the outro reuses the instrumental progression, so the visualizer shows the three distinct progressions: Verse, Chorus and Instrumental.

Harmonic notes

• The axis progression: the verse opens with C – G – Am – F (I – V – vi – IV), one of the most widely used progressions in pop.
• Descending bass: Am → Am/G → Fmaj7 walks the bass down A – G – F while the upper notes barely move.
• Fmaj7 → F6: only one inner note moves (E → D), a small detail that gives the verse its gentle motion.
• Stepwise cadence: F – C/E – Dm7 – C walks the bass down F – E – D – C, landing softly on the tonic.
• Chorus: Am – G – F – C is a descending vi – V – IV – I line.
• Borrowed ♭VII: the instrumental's B♭ isn't in C major. It's borrowed from C Mixolydian / C minor and gives that section its lift.

Practice tips

1. Learn the verse bass line by itself first: C – G – A – G – F, then F – E – D – C.
2. Keep your right hand around middle C. Most chord changes move only one or two fingers.
3. Compare F6 and Dm7/F in the visualizer. They light up the same keys, which shows how one sound can have two names.