Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play If You Leave Me Now on piano
By Chicago
- C major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 1976
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn If You Leave Me Now in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Am – D7 – G – C
How it goes
If You Leave Me Now sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; D7 is D, F#, A and C; G is G, B and D; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmviD7II7GVCI- AmA · C · E
- D7D · F# · A · C
- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
- 2
Left hand: Rolling waves
How it goes
Rolls up to the high third and back down, like a wave on the shore. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 545 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Push chords
How it goes
Two quick chords and a push just before beat 3, then space. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 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: F – G – C
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGC- FF · A · C
Play next
Questions about If You Leave Me Now
What chords are in If You Leave Me Now?
The loop is Am – D7 – G – C (vi – II7 – V – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is If You Leave Me Now in?
C major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in If You Leave Me Now?
Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If You Leave Me Now 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.