Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play I Can’t Help You Now on piano
By Bonnie Raitt
- A major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn I Can’t Help You Now in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: A7 – G7 – A – A7
How it goes
I Can’t Help You Now sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A7 is A, C#, E and G; G7 is G, B, D and F; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
A7I7G7bVII7AIA7I7- A7A · C# · E · G
- G7G · B · D · F
- AA · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
How it goes
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Push chords
How it goes
Two quick chords and a push just before beat 3, then space. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 BPM
How it goes
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: D – E – A
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DEA- DD · F# · A
- EE · G# · B
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Questions about I Can’t Help You Now
What chords are in I Can’t Help You Now?
The loop is A7 – G7 – A – A7 (I7 – bVII7 – I5 – I7) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is I Can’t Help You Now in?
A major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Can’t Help You Now?
Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Can’t Help You Now 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.