Once-A-Year-Day Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn Once-A-Year-Day in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C7 – F – C7 – F
How it goes
Once-A-Year-Day 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. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
C7V7FIC7V7FI
- C7C · E · G · Bb
- FF · A · C
414 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Toy-soldier march
How it goes
A bright two-note chord, then the low root: a toy soldier’s left-right. Musicians call it lh triads (2/4) (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in 205 songs of the library.
Toy-soldier marchLeft-hand chords · StrideLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Polka-hop chords
How it goes
Chords only on the “ands” in a quick two-beat bar: the “pah” of a polka. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Polka-hop chordsOffbeat chords · StrideRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 140 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: Bb – C – F
How it goes
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

What chords are in Once-A-Year-Day?

The loop is C7 – F – C7 – F (V7 – I – V7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Once-A-Year-Day in?

F major, at about 140 beats a minute in 2/4.

What does the left hand play in Once-A-Year-Day?

Toy-soldier march: lh triads (2/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Once-A-Year-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.