Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play Little Sunflower on piano
- D minor
- 4/4
- 140 BPM
- 1972
- Medium
Learn Little Sunflower in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Dsus4 – Dm – D – Csus4
Little Sunflower sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dsus4 is D, G and A; Dm is D, F and A; D is D, F# and A; Csus4 is C, F and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
Dsus4Isus4DmiDICsus4VIIsus4- Dsus4D · G · A
- DmD · F · A
- DD · F# · A
- Csus4C · F · G
- 2
Left hand: Rolling waves
Rolls up to the high third and back down, like a wave on the shore. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 545 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Sleep-in chords
Quiet for half the bar, then three chords wake up near the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 140 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: Bb – C – Dm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
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Questions about Little Sunflower
What chords are in Little Sunflower?
The loop is Dsus4 – Dm – D – Csus4 (Isus – i – I – bVIIsus) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is Little Sunflower in?
D minor, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Little Sunflower?
Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Little Sunflower 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.