Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play If You Want Me To Stay on piano
Written by Sylvester Stewart
- C major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1973
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn If You Want Me To Stay in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Am – Gm – C7 – F
How it goes
If You Want Me To Stay sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; Gm is G, Bb and D; C7 is C, E, G and Bb; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmviGmvC7I7FIV- AmA · C · E
- GmG · Bb · D
- C7C · E · G · Bb
- FF · A · C
- 2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
How it goes
The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: the chords, held
How it goes
In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.
- 4
Both hands at 100 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- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
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Questions about If You Want Me To Stay
What chords are in If You Want Me To Stay?
The loop is Am – Gm – C7 – F (vi – v – I7 – IV) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is If You Want Me To Stay in?
C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in If You Want Me To Stay?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If You Want Me To Stay 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.