I’m Number One Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn I’m Number One in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C – D7 – G7 – C
I’m Number One sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; D7 is D, F#, A and C; G7 is G, B, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CID7II7G7V7CI
- CC · E · G
- D7D · F# · A · C
- G7G · B · D · F
34 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Ping-pong bounce
High, low, high, low on every beat: a ping-pong bounce. Musicians call it broken chord 8-5 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 302 songs of the library.
Ping-pong bounceBroken chord · BalladLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Slow-down chords
Quick chords rush through the first half, then slow down to land on 4. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Slow-down chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 123 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: F – Fm – C
The last chords are IV – iv – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FFmC
- FF · A · C
- FmF · Ab · C

What chords are in I’m Number One?

The loop is C – D7 – G7 – C (I – II7 – V7 – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – Fm – C.

What key is I’m Number One in?

C major, at about 123 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in I’m Number One?

Ping-pong bounce: broken chord 8-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I’m Number One 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.