Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Greenwillow Christmas on piano

Written by Frank Loesser

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsRight hand Soft chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn Greenwillow Christmas in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: C – Gm – C – Gm

    How it goes

    Greenwillow Christmas sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; Gm is G, Bb and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    CIGmvCIGmv
    • CC · E · G
    • GmG · Bb · D
    28 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Power fifths

    How it goes

    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: Soft chords

    How it goes

    Soft chords on beats 1, 3 and 4. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 100 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. 5

    Ending: F – G – C

    How it goes

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

    FGC
    • FF · A · C
    • GG · B · D

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Questions about Greenwillow Christmas

What chords are in Greenwillow Christmas?

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

What key is Greenwillow Christmas in?

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

What does the left hand play in Greenwillow Christmas?

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

Is Greenwillow Christmas 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.