Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play O Happy Day on piano
Written by Edward F. Rimbault
- G major
- 2/2
- 120 BPM
- I–IV–iv–I loop
- 2012
- Medium
Learn O Happy Day in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: G – C – Cm – G
O Happy Day sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; C is C, E and G; Cm is C, Eb and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GICIVCmivGI- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
- CmC · Eb · G
- 2
Left hand: Busy rocking
A low root, then quick notes rocking between two higher keys. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5 (broken chord), a medium pattern heard in 200 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Wait-a-beat chords
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 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: C – D – G
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDG- DD · F# · A
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Questions about O Happy Day
What chords are in O Happy Day?
The loop is G – C – Cm – G (I – IV – iv – I) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.
What key is O Happy Day in?
G major, at about 120 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in O Happy Day?
Busy rocking: broken chord 1-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is O Happy Day 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.