Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Goodbye Earl on piano

Written by Dennis Linde

Play the full song with sheet music
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Ticking clockChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Goodbye Earl in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: C – F – C – G

    Goodbye Earl sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; F is 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.

    CIFIVCIGV
    • CC · E · G
    • FF · A · C
    • GG · B · D
    144 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Pop heartbeat

    Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

    Pop heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
  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.

    Ticking clockRepeated-note pulse · RockRight handMedium
  4. 4

    Both hands at 100 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: F – G – C

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

    FGC

Play next

The same I–IV–I–V loop

All of them
The EntertainerScott Joplin
Nine To FiveArtist unknown
Son-Of-A-Preacher ManArtist unknown
The GamblerKenny Rogers

Questions about Goodbye Earl

What chords are in Goodbye Earl?

The loop is C – F – C – G (I – IV – I – V) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Goodbye Earl in?

C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Goodbye Earl?

Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Goodbye Earl 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.