Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

How to play Azure on piano

By Duke Ellington

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 72 BPM
  • 1937
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Boogie walkerRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Azure in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Abm – Am – Abm – Am

    Azure sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Abm is Ab, Cb and Eb; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    AbmbiiiAmiiiAbmbiiiAmiii
    • AbmAb · Cb · Eb
    • AmA · C · E
  2. 2

    Left hand: Boogie walker

    A walking line that climbs and falls through the chord. Musicians call it boogie-woogie line (boogie & shuffle), a medium pattern heard in 807 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Steady chords

    A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 72 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. 5

    Ending: Bb – C – F

    The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    BbCF
    • BbBb · D · F
    • CC · E · G
    • FF · A · C

Play next

Questions about Azure

What chords are in Azure?

The loop is Abm – Am – Abm – Am (biii – iii – biii – iii) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Azure in?

F major, at about 72 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Azure?

Boogie walker: boogie-woogie line, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Azure 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.