Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Honeymoon Blues on piano

By Robert Johnson

  • A major
  • 4/4
  • 80 BPM
  • 1978
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

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

Learn Honeymoon Blues in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: A – E7 – A7 – D

    Honeymoon Blues sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; E7 is E, G#, B and D; A7 is A, C#, E and G; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    AIE7V7A7I7DIV
    • AA · C# · E
    • E7E · G# · B · D
    • A7A · C# · E · G
    • DD · F# · A
  2. 2

    Left hand: Power fifths

    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: Clockwork chords

    Four quick, even chords per short bar, ticking like clockwork. 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: D – E – A

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

    DEA
    • EE · G# · B

Play next

Questions about Honeymoon Blues

What chords are in Honeymoon Blues?

The loop is A – E7 – A7 – D (I – V7 – I7 – IV) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Honeymoon Blues in?

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

What does the left hand play in Honeymoon Blues?

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

Is Honeymoon Blues 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.