How to play Hands on piano

Learn Hands in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: G – C – Em – D
Hands sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; C is C, E and G; Em is E, G and B; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GICIVEmviDV
- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
- EmE · G · B
- DD · F# · A
67 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Bubbly heartbeat
Steady beats filled with quick little pickups around beat 3. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2a · 3 · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 173 songs of the library.
Bubbly heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Dawdling chords
Two chords, then a lazy late one after beat 3 that catches up on 4. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Dawdling chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 88 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 – C – G
The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GCG

What chords are in Hands?

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

What key is Hands in?

G major, at about 88 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Hands?

Bubbly heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2a · 3 · 3& · 4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Hands 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.