Piano chords · Old-time stride

How to play Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats) on piano

By Al Rinker

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats) in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: B7 – Em – B7 – Em
How it goes
Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats) sits in E minor: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: B7 is B, D#, F# and A; Em is E, G and B. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
B7V7EmiB7V7Emi
- B7B · D# · F# · A
- EmE · G · B
35 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Stride jumps
How it goes
Deep bass, then a chord in the middle: the left hand leaps. Musicians call it stride (stride & boom-chick), an easy pattern heard in 961 songs of the library.
Stride jumpsStride & boom-chick · StrideLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Freeze-tag chords
How it goes
Chord, chord-and, then freeze for the rest of the bar. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Freeze-tag chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 130 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: C – D – Em
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDEm
- CC · E · G
- DD · F# · A

What chords are in Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats)?

The loop is B7 – Em – B7 – Em (V7 – i – V7 – i) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.

What key is Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats) in?

E minor, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats)?

Stride jumps: stride, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Walt Disney's The Aristocats) easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.