Piano chords · Waltz garden
How to play Jitterbug Waltz on piano
By Fats Waller
- Eb major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 1942
- Medium
Learn Jitterbug Waltz in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Bb7 – Eb – Ab7 – Bb
Jitterbug Waltz sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Ab7 is Ab, C, Eb and Gb; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
Bb7V7EbIAb7IV7BbV- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb
- Ab7Ab · C · Eb · Gb
- BbBb · D · F
- 2
Left hand: Giant waltz
Warm low chords on all three beats, like a slow church waltz. Musicians call it lh chords (3/4) (left-hand chords), an easy pattern heard in 328 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Spinning-top chords
Six even chords in a three-beat bar, spinning round and round. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 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: Ab – Bb – Eb
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbEb- AbAb · C · Eb
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Questions about Jitterbug Waltz
What chords are in Jitterbug Waltz?
The loop is Bb7 – Eb – Ab7 – Bb (V7 – I – IV7 – V) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.
What key is Jitterbug Waltz in?
Eb major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Jitterbug Waltz?
Giant waltz: lh chords (3/4), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Jitterbug Waltz 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.