Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Pent Up House on piano

By Sonny Rollins

  • G major
  • 4/4
  • 160 BPM
  • 1965
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsRight hand Freeze-tag chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn Pent Up House in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Dsus4 – D7 – Dsus4 – D7

    How it goes

    Pent Up House sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dsus4 is D, G and A; D7 is D, F#, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    Dsus4Vsus4D7V7Dsus4Vsus4D7V7
    • Dsus4D · G · A
    • D7D · F# · A · C
  2. 2

    Left hand: Power fifths

    How it goes

    Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Freeze-tag chords

    How it goes

    Chord, chord-and, then freeze for the rest of the bar. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 160 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. 5

    Ending: Am – D7 – G

    How it goes

    The last chords are ii – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    AmD7G
    • AmA · C · E
    • GG · B · D

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Questions about Pent Up House

What chords are in Pent Up House?

The loop is Dsus4 – D7 – Dsus4 – D7 (Vsus – V7 – Vsus – V7) in G major, and the song ends on Am – D7 – G.

What key is Pent Up House in?

G major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Pent Up House?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Pent Up House 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.