Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Lullaby boat

How to play Show Me The Way on piano

Written by Dennis Deyoung

Tuning the piano…
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Left hand Rowing-boat pulseRight hand Cradle chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Show Me The Way in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: F – C – Bb – F

    Show Me The Way sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; C is C, E and G; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    FICVBbIVFI
    • FF · A · C
    • CC · E · G
    • BbBb · D · F
    202 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Rowing-boat pulse

    Six even low notes per bar, rolling along like oars on water. Musicians call it root bass · 6/8 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 240 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Cradle chords

    A chord, a rock to beat two, a soft pickup back: like a cradle. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 84 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. 5

    Ending: Bb – C – F

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

    BbCF

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Questions about Show Me The Way

What chords are in Show Me The Way?

The loop is F – C – Bb – F (I – V – IV – I) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.

What key is Show Me The Way in?

F major, at about 84 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Show Me The Way?

Rowing-boat pulse: root bass · 6/8 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Show Me The Way 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.