Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play Hurt on piano
- Bb major
- 2/2
- 100 BPM
- Medium
Learn Hurt in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F7 – Bb – Dm – Eb
Hurt sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F7 is F, A, C and Eb; Bb is Bb, D and F; Dm is D, F and A; Eb is Eb, G and Bb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
F7V7BbIDmiiiEbIV- F7F · A · C · Eb
- BbBb · D · F
- DmD · F · A
- EbEb · G · Bb
- 2
Left hand: Open sky
Root, fifth, then a high third: open and airy, the sound of a big sky. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 918 songs of the library.
- 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
Both hands at 100 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: Eb – Ebm – Bb
The last chords are IV – iv – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbEbmBb- EbmEb · Gb · Bb
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Questions about Hurt
What chords are in Hurt?
The loop is F7 – Bb – Dm – Eb (V7 – I – iii – IV) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ebm – Bb.
What key is Hurt in?
Bb major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Hurt?
Open sky: open arpeggio 1-5-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Hurt 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.