Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play If I Go on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn If I Go in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

1
Chords: Eb – Bb – Gm – F
How it goes
If I Go sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Bb is Bb, D and F; Gm is G, Bb and D; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EbIVBbIGmviFV
- EbEb · G · Bb
- BbBb · D · F
- GmG · Bb · D
- FF · A · C
62 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Hurrying footsteps
How it goes
Calm steps in the first half, then twice as fast to the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 642 songs of the library.
Hurrying footstepsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Falling leaves
How it goes
Three notes falling again and again, gently drifting down like leaves. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Falling leavesFalling arpeggio · ClassicalRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 144 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: Eb – F – Bb
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbFBb

What chords are in If I Go?

The loop is Eb – Bb – Gm – F (IV – I – vi – V) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is If I Go in?

Bb major, at about 144 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in If I Go?

Hurrying footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is If I Go 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.