Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play Not My Own on piano

By Twila Paris

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Open skyThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Not My Own in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: C – F – C – F

    Not My Own sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    CIFIVCIFIV
    • CC · E · G
    • FF · A · C
    782 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Open sky

    Root, fifth, then a high third: open and airy, the sound of a big sky. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 918 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: the chords, held

    In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 100 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: C – F – C

    The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    CFC

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Questions about Not My Own

What chords are in Not My Own?

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

What key is Not My Own in?

C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Not My Own?

Open sky: open arpeggio 1-5-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Not My Own 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.