Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Don't Wait Up on piano
By Diane Birch
- C minor
- 4/4
- 125 BPM
- 2009
- Medium
Learn Don't Wait Up in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Cm – Fm – Cm – Gm
Don't Wait Up sits in C minor: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Cm is C, Eb and G; Fm is F, Ab and C; Gm is G, Bb and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CmiFmivCmiGmv- CmC · Eb · G
- FmF · Ab · C
- GmG · Bb · D
- 2
Left hand: Chugging-train pulse
Chugs along in quick even notes, then takes one tiny breath at the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3 · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 629 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Push chords
Two quick chords and a push just before beat 3, then space. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 125 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: Ab – Bb – Cm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbCm- AbAb · C · Eb
- BbBb · D · F
Play next
Questions about Don't Wait Up
What chords are in Don't Wait Up?
The loop is Cm – Fm – Cm – Gm (i – iv – i – v) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.
What key is Don't Wait Up in?
C minor, at about 125 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Don't Wait Up?
Chugging-train pulse: root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3 · 3& · 4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Don't Wait Up 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.