Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play I Need My Girl on piano
Written by Matthew Berninger & Aaron Dessner
- C minor
- 4/4
- 126 BPM
- i–bVI–bIII–bVII loop
- 2013
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn I Need My Girl in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Cm – Ab – Eb – Bb
How it goes
I Need My Girl sits in C minor: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Cm is C, Eb and G; Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CmiAbVIEbIIIBbVII- CmC · Eb · G
- AbAb · C · Eb
- EbEb · G · Bb
- BbBb · D · F
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Pitter-patter
How it goes
A chord, then one note pattering steadily like gentle rain. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 126 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: Ab – Bb – Cm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbCm
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Questions about I Need My Girl
What chords are in I Need My Girl?
The loop is Cm – Ab – Eb – Bb (i – bVI – bIII – bVII) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.
What key is I Need My Girl in?
C minor, at about 126 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Need My Girl?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Need My Girl 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.