Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Ode To Billy Joe on piano
Written by Bobbie Gentry
- F major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1967
- Medium
Learn Ode To Billy Joe in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F7 – Cm – F7 – Bb7
Ode To Billy Joe sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F7 is F, A, C and Eb; Cm is C, Eb and G; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
F7I7CmvF7I7Bb7IV7- F7F · A · C · Eb
- CmC · Eb · G
- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Moonbeam glimmer
The top note dips to a sweet lower note and back, glimmering softly. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 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
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
- FF · A · C
Questions about Ode To Billy Joe
What chords are in Ode To Billy Joe?
The loop is F7 – Cm – F7 – Bb7 (I7 – v – I7 – IV7) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Ode To Billy Joe in?
F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Ode To Billy Joe?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Ode To Billy Joe 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.