Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play By My Side on piano

Written by Jay Hamburger & Peggy Gordon

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn By My Side in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Dm – C – Am – Dm
How it goes
By My Side sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dm is D, F and A; C is C, E and G; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DmiCVIIAmvDmi
- DmD · F · A
- CC · E · G
- AmA · C · E
2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
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: Rising light
How it goes
Three notes climb again and again, starting just after the beat. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Rising lightRising arpeggio · BalladRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 112 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
Ending: Bb – C – Dm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm
- BbBb · D · F

What chords are in By My Side?

The loop is Dm – C – Am – Dm (i – bVII – v – i) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.

What key is By My Side in?

D minor, at about 112 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in By My Side?

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 By My Side 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.