Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Gives You Hell on piano
By The All-American Rejects
- A major
- 4/4
- 101 BPM
- I–vi–IV–I loop
- Medium
Learn Gives You Hell in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: A – F#m – D – A
Gives You Hell sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; F#m is F#, A and C#; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AIF#mviDIVAI- AA · C# · E
- F#mF# · A · C#
- DD · F# · A
- 2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Double-skip chords
Steady chords with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 101 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: D – E – A
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DEA- EE · G# · B
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Questions about Gives You Hell
What chords are in Gives You Hell?
The loop is A – F#m – D – A (I – vi – IV – I) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is Gives You Hell in?
A major, at about 101 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Gives You Hell?
Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Gives You Hell 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.