Piano chords · Waltz garden

How to play If You Go Away on piano

By Jacques Brel

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn If You Go Away in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Bb – Am – D7 – Gm
If You Go Away sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bb is Bb, D and F; Am is A, C and E; D7 is D, F#, A and C; Gm is G, Bb and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BbIAmviiD7III7Gmvi
- BbBb · D · F
- AmA · C · E
- D7D · F# · A · C
- GmG · Bb · D
2
Left hand: Drifting waves
A low note, then a high pair drifting back and forth in three. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5-10 (3/4) (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 40 songs of the library.
Drifting wavesOpen arpeggio · WaltzLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Chattering waltz
After the first beat, quick chords and notes chatter to the end of the bar. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Chattering waltzSyncopated chords · WaltzRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 60 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: Eb – F – Bb
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbFBb
- EbEb · G · Bb
- FF · A · C

What chords are in If You Go Away?

The loop is Bb – Am – D7 – Gm (I – vii – III7 – vi) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is If You Go Away in?

Bb major, at about 60 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in If You Go Away?

Drifting waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5-10 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is If You Go Away 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.