Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Let’s Start The New Year Right on piano

Written by Irving Berlin

Play the full song with sheet music
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Hopscotch chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Let’s Start The New Year Right in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Eb – F#dim – Fm – Bb7

    Let’s Start The New Year Right sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Eb is Eb, G and Bb; F#dim is F#, A and C; Fm is F, Ab and C; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    EbIF#dimbiii°FmiiBb7V7
    • EbEb · G · Bb
    • F#dimF# · A · C
    • FmF · Ab · C
    • Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
    24 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Pop heartbeat

    Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

    Pop heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
  3. 3

    Right hand: Hopscotch chords

    Chord, chord, skip beat 3, chord: hopping over a square. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

    Hopscotch chordsBlock chords · StrideRight handEasy
  4. 4

    Both hands at 72 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. 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
    • BbBb · D · F

Play next

The same I–biiio–ii–V7 loop

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More by Irving Berlin

All their songs
White ChristmasIrving Berlin
Blue SkiesIrving Berlin
Puttin' On The RitzIrving Berlin
Cheek To CheekIrving Berlin

Questions about Let’s Start The New Year Right

What chords are in Let’s Start The New Year Right?

The loop is Eb – F#dim – Fm – Bb7 (I – biiio – ii – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is Let’s Start The New Year Right in?

Eb major, at about 72 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Let’s Start The New Year Right?

Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Let’s Start The New Year Right easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.