Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play Be Careful With A Fool on piano

By B.B. King

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Rock’n’roll climbRight hand Pumping chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn Be Careful With A Fool in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Bb – F7 – Bb – F7

    How it goes

    Be Careful With A Fool sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bb is Bb, D and F; F7 is F, A, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    BbIF7V7BbIF7V7
    • BbBb · D · F
    • F7F · A · C · Eb
    222 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Rock’n’roll climb

    How it goes

    Up three chord notes and one step past: the 1950s rock’n’roll climb. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-6 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 204 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Pumping chords

    How it goes

    A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 115 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. 5

    Ending: Eb – F – Bb

    How it goes

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

    EbFBb
    • EbEb · G · Bb
    • FF · A · C

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Questions about Be Careful With A Fool

What chords are in Be Careful With A Fool?

The loop is Bb – F7 – Bb – F7 (I – V7 – I – V7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is Be Careful With A Fool in?

Bb major, at about 115 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Be Careful With A Fool?

Rock’n’roll climb: broken chord 1-3-5-6, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Be Careful With A Fool 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.