Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play I Need To Know on piano
By Marc Anthony
- A minor
- 4/4
- 112 BPM
- Medium
Learn I Need To Know in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Am – E7 – E7 – Am
I Need To Know sits in A minor: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; E7 is E, G#, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmiE7V7E7V7Ami- AmA · C · E
- E7E · G# · B · D
- 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: Deep-breath chords
A breath on beat 1, then quick chords pumping to the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 112 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: F – G – Am
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGAm- FF · A · C
- GG · B · D
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Questions about I Need To Know
What chords are in I Need To Know?
The loop is Am – E7 – E7 – Am (i – V7 – i – V7) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.
What key is I Need To Know in?
A minor, at about 112 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Need To Know?
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 Need To Know 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 Need To Know?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the catchy part of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.