Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Advice from a Caterpillar on piano
Written by Frank Wildhorn
- D minor
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 2011
- Medium
Learn Advice from a Caterpillar in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Dm – Bb7 – Dm – Bb7
Advice from a Caterpillar sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dm is D, F and A; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DmiBb7VI7DmiBb7VI7- DmD · F · A
- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- 2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Swing push
Three chords tumble out early with a swing, then the bar breathes. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 100 BPM
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: Bb – C – Dm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
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Questions about Advice from a Caterpillar
What chords are in Advice from a Caterpillar?
The loop is Dm – Bb7 – Dm – Bb7 (i – bVI7 – i – bVI7) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is Advice from a Caterpillar in?
D minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Advice from a Caterpillar?
Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Advice from a Caterpillar 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.