Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

How to play Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door on piano

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Ragtime bounceRight hand Marching chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: G – C – G – C

    How it goes

    Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    GICIVGICIV
    • GG · B · D
    • CC · E · G
    782 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Ragtime bounce

    How it goes

    Quick bass-chord-bass-chord: the bouncy left hand of ragtime. Musicians call it boom-chick (2/4) (stride & boom-chick), a medium pattern heard in 137 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Marching chords

    How it goes

    Two chords per bar, left-right, like a happy little march. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 126 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: G – C – G

    How it goes

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

    GCG

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Questions about Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door

What chords are in Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door?

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

What key is Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door in?

G major, at about 126 beats a minute in 2/4.

What does the left hand play in Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door?

Ragtime bounce: boom-chick (2/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door 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.