Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play If on piano
By Bread
- A major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1971
- Medium
Learn If in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: A7 – Bm7 – Bm7 – A
If sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A7 is A, C#, E and G; Bm7 is B, D, F# and A; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
A7I7Bm7ii7Bm7ii7AI- A7A · C# · E · G
- Bm7B · D · F# · A
- AA · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Dreamy wave
Rolls up through a soft extra note: a dreamy, open, modern sound. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-9-10 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 129 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Late-knock chords
One chord, a long wait, then a quick knock-knock at the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 100 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: A – Bm – A
The last chords are I – ii – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
ABmA- BmB · D · F#
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Questions about If
What chords are in If?
The loop is A7 – Bm7 – Bm7 – A (I7 – ii7 – I – I7) in A major, and the song ends on A – Bm – A.
What key is If in?
A major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in If?
Dreamy wave: open arpeggio 1-5-9-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If 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 If?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the bass riff 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.