Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

How to play Dim, Dim The Lights on piano

By Bill Haley & His Comets

  • D major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 1955
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Jazz walkRight hand Ticking clockChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Dim, Dim The Lights in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: D – Em – D – A

    Dim, Dim The Lights sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; Em is E, G and B; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    DIEmiiDIAV
    • DD · F# · A
    • EmE · G · B
    • AA · C# · E
  2. 2

    Left hand: Jazz walk

    One note per beat, strolling like a jazz bassist. Musicians call it walking bass (walking bass), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Ticking clock

    One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 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. 5

    Ending: D – C – D

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

    DCD
    • CC · E · G

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Questions about Dim, Dim The Lights

What chords are in Dim, Dim The Lights?

The loop is D – Em – D – A (I – ii – I – V) in D major, and the song ends on D – C – D.

What key is Dim, Dim The Lights in?

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

What does the left hand play in Dim, Dim The Lights?

Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Dim, Dim The Lights 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.