Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play This Is Halloween on piano
By Danny Elfman
- C major
- 4/4
- 88 BPM
- 1993
- Medium
Learn This Is Halloween in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F#m – Dm – Bm – F#m
This Is Halloween sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F#m is F#, A and C#; Dm is D, F and A; Bm is B, D and F#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
F#m#ivDmiiBmviiF#m#iv- F#mF# · A · C#
- DmD · F · A
- BmB · D · F#
- 2
Left hand: Ping-pong bounce
High, low, high, low on every beat: a ping-pong bounce. Musicians call it broken chord 8-5 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 302 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Pumping chords
A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 88 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- FF · A · C
- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
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Questions about This Is Halloween
What chords are in This Is Halloween?
The loop is F#m – Dm – Bm – F#m (#iv – ii – vii – #iv) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is This Is Halloween in?
C major, at about 88 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in This Is Halloween?
Ping-pong bounce: broken chord 8-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is This Is Halloween 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.