Piano chords · Blues & boogie

How to play Big Yellow Taxi on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Big Yellow Taxi in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: F – F – Gm7 – F – F
Big Yellow Taxi sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 5 chords: F is F, A and C; Gm7 is G, Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FIFIGm7ii7FIFI
- FF · A · C
- Gm7G · Bb · D · F
20 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Rock’n’roll rocker
The left hand rocks between two shapes, straight out of the 1950s. Musicians call it rock’n’roll 5–6 shuffle (boogie & shuffle), a medium pattern heard in 262 songs of the library.
Rock’n’roll rockerBoogie & shuffle · Blues and boogie-woogieLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Running-late chords
Misses beat 1, then hurries in with busy chords around the beats. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Running-late chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 120 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 – 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

What chords are in Big Yellow Taxi?

The loop is F – F – Gm7 – F – F (I – ii7 – I – ii7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Big Yellow Taxi in?

F major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Big Yellow Taxi?

Rock’n’roll rocker: rock’n’roll 5–6 shuffle, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Big Yellow Taxi easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Big Yellow Taxi?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.

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