Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Film & wonder

How to play This Time on piano

By John Mellencamp

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Thunder tremoloThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn This Time in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: F – C – Eb – Bb

    This Time sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; C is C, E and G; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    FICVEbbVIIBbIV
    • FF · A · C
    • CC · E · G
    • EbEb · G · Bb
    • BbBb · D · F
    24 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Thunder tremolo

    An octave shaking fast: thunder and suspense. Musicians call it octave tremolo (tremolo), a tricky pattern heard in 150 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: the chords, held

    In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 70 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. 5

    Ending: Eb – Bb – F

    The last chords are bVII – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    EbBbF

Play next

Questions about This Time

What chords are in This Time?

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

What key is This Time in?

F major, at about 70 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in This Time?

Thunder tremolo: octave tremolo, a tricky pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is This Time easy to play on piano?

It is a tricky 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.