Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play The Cradle on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn The Cradle in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Gm – Cm – F7 – Bb
The Cradle sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Gm is G, Bb and D; Cm is C, Eb and G; F7 is F, A, C and Eb; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GmviCmiiF7V7BbI
- GmG · Bb · D
- CmC · Eb · G
- F7F · A · C · Eb
- BbBb · D · F
35 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Open sky
Root, fifth, then a high third: open and airy, the sound of a big sky. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 918 songs of the library.
Open skyOpen arpeggio · BalladLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Wobbly chords
Two off-balance chords on the “ands”, then a firm landing on 4. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Wobbly chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 130 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: Eb – F – Bb
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbFBb
- EbEb · G · Bb
- FF · A · C

What chords are in The Cradle?

The loop is Gm – Cm – F7 – Bb (vi – ii – V7 – I) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is The Cradle in?

Bb major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in The Cradle?

Open sky: open arpeggio 1-5-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Cradle 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.