Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play One Dance on piano
Written by Aubrey Graham, Paul Jeffries & others
- Bb minor
- 4/4
- 103 BPM
- 2016
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn One Dance in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ebm – Bbm – Db – Ebm
How it goes
One Dance sits in Bb minor: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ebm is Eb, Gb and Bb; Bbm is Bb, Db and F; Db is Db, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EbmivBbmiDbIIIEbmiv- EbmEb · Gb · Bb
- BbmBb · Db · F
- DbDb · F · Ab
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
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: Ticking clock
How it goes
One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 103 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: Gb – Ab – Bbm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GbAbBbm- GbGb · Bb · Db
- AbAb · C · Eb
Questions about One Dance
What chords are in One Dance?
The loop is Ebm – Bbm – Db – Ebm (iv – i – bIII – iv) in Bb minor, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Bbm.
What key is One Dance in?
Bb minor, at about 103 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in One Dance?
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 One Dance 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.