Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play The Long Black Veil on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn The Long Black Veil in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C – G – C – G
The Long Black Veil sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIVGICIVGI
- CC · E · G
- GG · B · D
384 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Rolling waves
Rolls up to the high third and back down, like a wave on the shore. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 545 songs of the library.
Rolling wavesOpen arpeggio · BalladLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Soft chords
Soft chords on beats 1, 3 and 4. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Soft chordsBlock chords · BalladRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 120 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: C – D – G
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDG
- DD · F# · A

What chords are in The Long Black Veil?

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

What key is The Long Black Veil in?

G major, at about 120 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in The Long Black Veil?

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

Is The Long Black Veil 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.