Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Drunken Hearted Man on piano

By Robert Johnson

  • D major
  • 4/4
  • 90 BPM
  • 1978
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Drunken Hearted Man in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: A7 – D7 – G – D7

    Drunken Hearted Man sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A7 is A, C#, E and G; D7 is D, F#, A and C; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    A7V7D7I7GIVD7I7
    • A7A · C# · E · G
    • D7D · F# · A · C
    • GG · B · D
  2. 2

    Left hand: Power fifths

    Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: the chords, held

    In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 90 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: G – A – D

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

    GAD
    • AA · C# · E
    • DD · F# · A

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Questions about Drunken Hearted Man

What chords are in Drunken Hearted Man?

The loop is A7 – D7 – G – D7 (V7 – I7 – IV – I7) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Drunken Hearted Man in?

D major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Drunken Hearted Man?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Drunken Hearted Man 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.