Piano chords · Bossa beach
How to play I Only Want To Say on piano
Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Bb minor
- 4/4
- 160 BPM
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn I Only Want To Say in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Bbm – Ab – Gb – F
How it goes
I Only Want To Say sits in Bb minor: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bbm is Bb, Db and F; Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Gb is Gb, Bb and Db; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BbmiAbVIIGbVIFV- BbmBb · Db · F
- AbAb · C · Eb
- GbGb · Bb · Db
- FF · A · C
- 2
Left hand: Bossa sway
How it goes
Long-short, long-short, leaning ahead: a gentle Brazilian sway. Musicians call it root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Pumping chords
How it goes
A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 160 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: Gb – Ab – Bbm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GbAbBbm
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Questions about I Only Want To Say
What chords are in I Only Want To Say?
The loop is Bbm – Ab – Gb – F (i – bVII – bVI – V) in Bb minor, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Bbm.
What key is I Only Want To Say in?
Bb minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in I Only Want To Say?
Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Only Want To Say 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.