Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play Real Wild Child on piano
Written by Johnny O’Keefe, Johnny Greenan & others
- A major
- 4/4
- 160 BPM
- 1958
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Real Wild Child in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: A – D7 – A – E
How it goes
Real Wild Child sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; D7 is D, F#, A and C; E is E, G# and B. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AID7IV7AIEV- AA · C# · E
- D7D · F# · A · C
- EE · G# · B
- 2
Left hand: Rockabilly wiggle
How it goes
Root, a skip down, a step down and back up: a rockabilly shake. Musicians call it broken chord 8-6-5-6 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 76 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Double-skip chords
How it goes
Steady chords with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 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
Ending: Esus4 – E – A
How it goes
The last chords are Vsus – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
Esus4EA- Esus4E · A · B
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Questions about Real Wild Child
What chords are in Real Wild Child?
The loop is A – D7 – A – E (I – IV7 – I – V) in A major, and the song ends on Esus4 – E – A.
What key is Real Wild Child in?
A major, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Real Wild Child?
Rockabilly wiggle: broken chord 8-6-5-6, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Real Wild Child 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.