Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Peter Gunn on piano

By Henry Mancini

  • F major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 1958
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn Peter Gunn in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: F7 – Dbsus4 – Dsus4 – F

    How it goes

    Peter Gunn sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F7 is F, A, C and Eb; Dbsus4 is Db, Gb and Ab; Dsus4 is D, G and A; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    F7I7Dbsus4bVIsus4Dsus4VIsus4FI
    • F7F · A · C · Eb
    • Dbsus4Db · Gb · Ab
    • Dsus4D · G · A
    • FF · 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: Steady chords

    How it goes

    A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 100 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: 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

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Questions about Peter Gunn

What chords are in Peter Gunn?

The loop is F7 – Dbsus4 – Dsus4 – F (I7 – bVIsus – VIsus – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Peter Gunn in?

F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Peter Gunn?

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

Is Peter Gunn 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.