Piano chords · Bossa beach
How to play Hair Up on piano
Written by Justin Timberlake, Shellback & others
- D major
- 2/2
- 150 BPM
- 2016
- Medium
Learn Hair Up in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Bm – C# – C – Bm
Hair Up sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bm is B, D and F#; C# is C#, E# and G#; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BmviC#VIICbVIIBmvi- BmB · D · F#
- C#C# · E# · G#
- CC · E · G
- 2
Left hand: Bossa sway
Long-short, long-short, leaning ahead: a gentle Brazilian sway. Musicians call it root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of 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 150 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: G – A – D
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GAD- GG · B · D
- AA · C# · E
- DD · F# · A
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Questions about Hair Up
What chords are in Hair Up?
The loop is Bm – C# – C – Bm (vi – VII – bVII – vi) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is Hair Up in?
D major, at about 150 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Hair Up?
Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Hair Up 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.