Piano chords · Waltz garden
How to play Christmas Time Is Here on piano
By Lee Mendelson
- F major
- 3/4
- 100 BPM
- 1966
- Medium
Learn Christmas Time Is Here in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F – Eb7 – F – Eb7
Christmas Time Is Here sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; Eb7 is Eb, G, Bb and Db. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FIEb7bVII7FIEb7bVII7- FF · A · C
- Eb7Eb · G · Bb · Db
- 2
Left hand: Moonlit waves
Rolls up to a high note and back down, slow and wide in three. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 (3/4) (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 84 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Waltz chords
A chord on each of the three beats: a simple waltz. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 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: F – Gm – F
The last chords are I – ii – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGmF- GmG · Bb · D
Play next
Questions about Christmas Time Is Here
What chords are in Christmas Time Is Here?
The loop is F – Eb7 – F – Eb7 (I – bVII7 – I – bVII7) in F major, and the song ends on F – Gm – F.
What key is Christmas Time Is Here in?
F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 3/4.
What does the left hand play in Christmas Time Is Here?
Moonlit waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Christmas Time Is Here 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.