Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play New Year’s Day on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn New Year’s Day in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

1
Chords: C – Am – C – Am
How it goes
New Year’s Day sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIAmviCIAmvi
- CC · E · G
- AmA · C · E
135 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Power fifths
How it goes
Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Power fifthsLeft-hand chords · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Wait-a-beat chords
How it goes
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Wait-a-beat chordsBlock chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 92 BPM
How it goes
Put the two hands together over the loop. Start at half speed with the player's speed control, and bring it up once every change is easy.
5
Ending: C – Am – C
How it goes
The last chords are I – vi – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CAmC

What chords are in New Year’s Day?

The loop is C – Am – C – Am (I – vi – I – vi) in C major, and the song ends on C – Am – C.

What key is New Year’s Day in?

C major, at about 92 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in New Year’s Day?

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

Is New Year’s Day 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.