Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play The First Cut Is The Deepest on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn The First Cut Is The Deepest in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: F – G – C – G
The First Cut Is The Deepest sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; 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.
FIVGVCIGV
- FF · A · C
- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
31 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Pausing footsteps
Three even steps, then a quiet beat to breathe. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Pausing footstepsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Wait-a-beat chords
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Wait-a-beat chordsBlock chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 98 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: F – G – C
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGC

What chords are in The First Cut Is The Deepest?

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

What key is The First Cut Is The Deepest in?

C major, at about 98 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in The First Cut Is The Deepest?

Pausing footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The First Cut Is The Deepest easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.