Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Suspicions on piano
By Tim McGraw
- C minor
- 4/4
- 74 BPM
- Medium
Learn Suspicions in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Gm – Cm – Fm
Suspicions sits in C minor: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Gm is G, Bb and D; Cm is C, Eb and G; Fm is F, Ab and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbVIGmvCmiFmiv- AbAb · C · Eb
- GmG · Bb · D
- CmC · Eb · G
- FmF · Ab · C
- 2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: the chords, held
In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.
- 4
Both hands at 74 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: Ab – Bb – Cm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbCm- BbBb · D · F
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Questions about Suspicions
What chords are in Suspicions?
The loop is Ab – Gm – Cm – Fm (bVI – v – i – iv) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.
What key is Suspicions in?
C minor, at about 74 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Suspicions?
Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Suspicions 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.