Piano chords · Blues & boogie

How to play Mysterious Ways on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Mysterious Ways in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: F – C – F – C
How it goes
Mysterious Ways sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FIVCIFIVCI
- FF · A · C
- CC · E · G
384 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Boogie walker
How it goes
A walking line that climbs and falls through the chord. Musicians call it boogie-woogie line (boogie & shuffle), a medium pattern heard in 807 songs of the library.
Boogie walkerBoogie & shuffle · Blues and boogie-woogieLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Offbeat skank
How it goes
Chords only on the “and”: reggae and swing. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Offbeat skankOffbeat chords · Blues and boogie-woogieRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 80 BPM
How it goes
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 – G – C
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGC
- GG · B · D

What chords are in Mysterious Ways?

The loop is F – C – F – C (IV – I – IV – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Mysterious Ways in?

C major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Mysterious Ways?

Boogie walker: boogie-woogie line, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Mysterious Ways 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.