Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play I Don’t Wanna Cry on piano
By Mariah Carey
- F# minor
- 4/4
- 66 BPM
- 1990
- Easy
Learn I Don’t Wanna Cry in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F#m – Bm – F#m – C#sus4
I Don’t Wanna Cry sits in F# minor: F# is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F#m is F#, A and C#; Bm is B, D and F#; C#sus4 is C#, F# and G#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
F#miBmivF#miC#sus4Vsus4- F#mF# · A · C#
- BmB · D · F#
- C#sus4C# · F# · G#
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of 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 66 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: D – E – F#m
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DEF#m- DD · F# · A
- EE · G# · B
Play next
Questions about I Don’t Wanna Cry
What chords are in I Don’t Wanna Cry?
The loop is F#m – Bm – F#m – C#sus4 (i – iv – i – Vsus) in F# minor, and the song ends on D – E – F#m.
What key is I Don’t Wanna Cry in?
F# minor, at about 66 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Don’t Wanna Cry?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Don’t Wanna Cry easy to play on piano?
Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.
Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.