Silent Night Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn Silent Night in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Bb – F7 – Bb – F7
Silent Night sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bb is Bb, D and F; F7 is F, A, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BbIF7V7BbIF7V7
- BbBb · D · F
- F7F · A · C · Eb
222 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Waltzing river
Flows up five notes with a little step near the top, in three. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-8-9-10 (3/4) (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 82 songs of the library.
Waltzing riverOpen arpeggio · WaltzLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Waltz push chords
Chord, a push before beat 3, then the landing: a waltz with a nudge. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Waltz push chordsSyncopated chords · WaltzRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 90 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: Bb – F7 – Bb
The last chords are I – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbF7Bb

What chords are in Silent Night?

The loop is Bb – F7 – Bb – F7 (I – V7 – I – V7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Bb – F7 – Bb.

What key is Silent Night in?

Bb major, at about 90 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in Silent Night?

Waltzing river: open arpeggio 1-5-8-9-10 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Silent Night 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.