Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play Make Someone Happy on piano
By Jule Styne
- F major
- 4/4
- 140 BPM
- 1960
- Medium
Learn Make Someone Happy in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: C7 – F – Bb7 – Am
Make Someone Happy sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C7 is C, E, G and Bb; F is F, A and C; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
C7V7FIBb7IV7Amiii- C7C · E · G · Bb
- FF · A · C
- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- AmA · C · E
- 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: Soft chords
Soft chords on beats 1, 3 and 4. 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 – F
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCF- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
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Questions about Make Someone Happy
What chords are in Make Someone Happy?
The loop is C7 – F – Bb7 – Am (V7 – I – IV7 – iii) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Make Someone Happy in?
F major, at about 140 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Make Someone Happy?
Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Make Someone Happy 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.
Can I hear the real melody of Make Someone Happy?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the bass riff of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.