Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play I Can't Get Started on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn I Can't Get Started in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C – Am – Dm – G7
I Can't Get Started sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; Am is A, C and E; Dm is D, F and A; G7 is G, B, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIAmviDmiiG7V7
- CC · E · G
- AmA · C · E
- DmD · F · A
- G7G · B · D · F
160 songs go round the same chords
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.
Open skyOpen arpeggio · BalladLeft handMedium
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.
Steady chordsBlock chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 90 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: Dm – G7 – C
The last chords are ii – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DmG7C

What chords are in I Can't Get Started?

The loop is C – Am – Dm – G7 (I – vi – ii – V7) in C major, and the song ends on Dm – G7 – C.

What key is I Can't Get Started in?

C major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in I Can't Get Started?

Open sky: open arpeggio 1-5-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I Can't Get Started 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.