Piano chords · Lullaby boat
How to play If You’re Happy And You Know It on piano
Written by L. Smith
- F major
- 6/8
- 160 BPM
- 2000
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn If You’re Happy And You Know It in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F – Gm – Bb – C7
How it goes
If You’re Happy And You Know It sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; Gm is G, Bb and D; Bb is Bb, D and F; C7 is C, E, G and Bb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FIGmiiBbIVC7V7- FF · A · C
- GmG · Bb · D
- BbBb · D · F
- C7C · E · G · Bb
- 2
Left hand: Swelling 6/8
How it goes
Rises to the top and falls back in one rocking six-note wave. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8) (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 73 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Hammock chords
How it goes
Long-short, long-short: soft chords sway like a hammock. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 160 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 – C7 – F
How it goes
The last chords are I – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FC7F
Questions about If You’re Happy And You Know It
What chords are in If You’re Happy And You Know It?
The loop is F – Gm – Bb – C7 (I – ii – IV – V7) in F major, and the song ends on F – C7 – F.
What key is If You’re Happy And You Know It in?
F major, at about 160 beats a minute in 6/8.
What does the left hand play in If You’re Happy And You Know It?
Swelling 6/8: open arpeggio 1-5-8-10-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is If You’re Happy And You Know It 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.