Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play I Don't Like Mondays on piano
By The Boomtown Rats
- B major
- 4/4
- 144 BPM
- 1979
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn I Don't Like Mondays in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: E – E – E – F#
How it goes
I Don't Like Mondays sits in B major: B is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: E is E, G# and B; F# is F#, A# and C#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EIVEIVEIVF#V- EE · G# · B
- F#F# · A# · C#
- 2
Left hand: Heartbeat octaves
How it goes
Low, high, low, high: a bouncing heartbeat. Musicians call it rocking octaves (rocking octaves), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Hurrying chords
How it goes
Calm chords in the first half, then twice as fast to the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 144 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: E – F# – B
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EF#B- BB · D# · F#
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Questions about I Don't Like Mondays
What chords are in I Don't Like Mondays?
The loop is E – E – E – F# (IV – V – IV – V) in B major, and the song ends on E – F# – B.
What key is I Don't Like Mondays in?
B major, at about 144 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Don't Like Mondays?
Heartbeat octaves: rocking octaves, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Don't Like Mondays 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.
Can I hear the real melody of I Don't Like Mondays?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.