Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play Take This Life on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Take This Life in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Gm – F – Eb – Bb
How it goes
Take This Life sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Gm is G, Bb and D; F is F, A and C; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GmviFVEbIVBbI
- GmG · Bb · D
- FF · A · C
- EbEb · G · Bb
- BbBb · D · F
51 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Round-trip ripple
How it goes
Climbs to the octave and comes straight back home, then rests. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5-8-5-1 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 123 songs of the library.
Round-trip rippleBroken chord · BalladLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Groovy chords
How it goes
Chords jump around the “ands” for a funky, dancing feel. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Groovy chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 96 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: Eb – F – Bb
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbFBb

What chords are in Take This Life?

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

What key is Take This Life in?

Bb major, at about 96 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Take This Life?

Round-trip ripple: broken chord 1-5-8-5-1, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Take This Life 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.