Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

How to play Hello on piano

By Lionel Richie

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Rock’n’roll rockerRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Hello in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Am – G – F – G

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

    AmviGVFIVGV
    • AmA · C · E
    • GG · B · D
    • FF · A · C
    33 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Rock’n’roll rocker

    The left hand rocks between two shapes, straight out of the 1950s. Musicians call it rock’n’roll 5–6 shuffle (boogie & shuffle), a medium pattern heard in 262 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Steady chords

    A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 80 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
    • CC · E · G

Play next

Questions about Hello

What chords are in Hello?

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

What key is Hello in?

C major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Hello?

Rock’n’roll rocker: rock’n’roll 5–6 shuffle, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Hello 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 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.