Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep on piano
Written by Jack Steadman
- G major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- I–IV–I–vi loop
- 2010
- Medium
Learn How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: G – C – G – Em
How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep 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. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GICIVGIEmvi- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
- EmE · G · B
- 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.
- 3
Right hand: Run-up chords
Four steady chords plus a quick extra one leading into the next bar. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 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: C – D – G
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDG- DD · F# · A
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Questions about How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
What chords are in How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?
The loop is G – C – G – Em (I – IV – I – vi) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.
What key is How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep in?
G major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?
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 How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep 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.