Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Only One on piano
By Kanye West
- G major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 2014
- Medium
Learn Only One in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: G – B – Em – C
Only One sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; B is B, D# and F#; Em is E, G and B; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GIBIIIEmviCIV- GG · B · D
- BB · D# · F#
- EmE · G · B
- CC · E · G
- 2
Left hand: Hop-skip heartbeat
Three steps, then a quick hop that skips right over beat 4. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4& (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 250 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Raindrop bounce
From a high note down, then bouncing in the middle: raindrops on a pond. 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: 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
Play next
Questions about Only One
What chords are in Only One?
The loop is G – B – Em – C (I – III – vi – IV) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.
What key is Only One in?
G major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Only One?
Hop-skip heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Only One 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.