Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play If It Wasn’t For The Nights on piano
By Abba
- D major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- I–vi–V–I loop
- 1979
- Medium
Learn If It Wasn’t For The Nights in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: D – Bm – A – D
If It Wasn’t For The Nights sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; Bm is B, D and F#; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DIBmviAVDI- DD · F# · A
- BmB · D · F#
- AA · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Heartbeat octaves
Low, high, low, high: a bouncing heartbeat. Musicians call it rocking octaves (rocking octaves), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Somersault chords
Evenly spaced chords roll across the beats, then flip into the next bar. 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: G – A – D
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GAD- GG · B · D
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Questions about If It Wasn’t For The Nights
What chords are in If It Wasn’t For The Nights?
The loop is D – Bm – A – D (I – vi – V – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is If It Wasn’t For The Nights in?
D major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in If It Wasn’t For The Nights?
Heartbeat octaves: rocking octaves, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If It Wasn’t For The Nights 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.