Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play That’s Why I Pray on piano
Written by Danelle Leverett Reeves, Blair Daly & others
- Ab major
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- I–V–IV–I loop
- 2012
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn That’s Why I Pray in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Eb – Db – Ab
How it goes
That’s Why I Pray sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Db is Db, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIEbVDbIVAbI- AbAb · C · Eb
- EbEb · G · Bb
- DbDb · F · Ab
- 2
Left hand: Bubbly heartbeat
How it goes
Steady beats filled with quick little pickups around beat 3. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2a · 3 · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 173 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Steady chords
How it goes
A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 100 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: Ab – Db – Ab
How it goes
The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbDbAb
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Questions about That’s Why I Pray
What chords are in That’s Why I Pray?
The loop is Ab – Eb – Db – Ab (I – V – IV – I) in Ab major, and the song ends on Ab – Db – Ab.
What key is That’s Why I Pray in?
Ab major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in That’s Why I Pray?
Bubbly heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2a · 3 · 3& · 4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is That’s Why I Pray 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.