Piano chords · Bossa beach
How to play Hard Candy Christmas on piano
Written by Carol Hall
- Eb major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- I–IV–I–IV loop
- 1977
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Hard Candy Christmas in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab
How it goes
Hard Candy Christmas sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EbIAbIVEbIAbIV- EbEb · G · Bb
- AbAb · C · Eb
- 2
Left hand: Bossa sway
How it goes
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: Gear-shift chords
How it goes
Quick even chords that skip beat 3, like an engine changing gear. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 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
Ending: Eb – Ab – Eb
How it goes
The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbAbEb
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Questions about Hard Candy Christmas
What chords are in Hard Candy Christmas?
The loop is Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab (I – IV – I – IV) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ab – Eb.
What key is Hard Candy Christmas in?
Eb major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Hard Candy Christmas?
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 Hard Candy 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.