Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play I Want You on piano
By Cee Lo Green
- D minor
- 12/8
- 114 BPM
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn I Want You in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Dm – E7 – Bb7 – A
How it goes
I Want You sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dm is D, F and A; E7 is E, G#, B and D; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DmiE7II7Bb7VI7AV- DmD · F · A
- E7E · G# · B · D
- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- AA · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
How it goes
The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium 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 114 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: Bb – C – Dm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
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Questions about I Want You
What chords are in I Want You?
The loop is Dm – E7 – Bb7 – A (i – II7 – bVI7 – V) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is I Want You in?
D minor, at about 114 beats a minute in 12/8.
What does the left hand play in I Want You?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is I Want You 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.