Blue Christmas Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn Blue Christmas in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Ab – Eb7 – Ab – Ab7
Blue Christmas sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Eb7 is Eb, G, Bb and Db; Ab7 is Ab, C, Eb and Gb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIEb7V7AbIAb7I7
- AbAb · C · Eb
- Eb7Eb · G · Bb · Db
- Ab7Ab · C · Eb · Gb
37 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Wait-a-beat chords
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Wait-a-beat chordsBlock chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 110 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: Db – Eb – Ab
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbAb
- DbDb · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb

What chords are in Blue Christmas?

The loop is Ab – Eb7 – Ab – Ab7 (I – V7 – I – I7) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Blue Christmas in?

Ab major, at about 110 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Blue Christmas?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Blue Christmas 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.