Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Baby Can I Hold You on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Baby Can I Hold You in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: D – Em – G – D
Baby Can I Hold You sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; Em is E, G and B; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DIEmiiGIVDI
- DD · F# · A
- EmE · G · B
- GG · B · D
37 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
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.
Pop heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Skipping-stone chords
One chord, then two bounces on the “ands”, like a stone on water. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Skipping-stone chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
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: Em – G – D
The last chords are ii – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EmGD

What chords are in Baby Can I Hold You?

The loop is D – Em – G – D (I – ii – IV – I) in D major, and the song ends on Em – G – D.

What key is Baby Can I Hold You in?

D major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Baby Can I Hold You?

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 Baby Can I Hold You easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.