Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Tonight on piano
Written by Leonard Bernstein
- Ab major
- 2/2
- 132 BPM
- 1957
- Medium
Learn Tonight in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Bb – Ab – Fm
Tonight sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Bb is Bb, D and F; Fm is F, Ab and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIBbIIAbIFmvi- AbAb · C · Eb
- BbBb · D · F
- FmF · Ab · C
- 2
Left hand: Hopscotch steps
Step, step, skip a beat, step: like hopping over a square. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 668 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Deep-breath chords
A breath on beat 1, then quick chords pumping to the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 132 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: Db – Eb – Ab
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbAb- DbDb · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb
Play next
Questions about Tonight
What chords are in Tonight?
The loop is Ab – Bb – Ab – Fm (I – II – I – vi) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.
What key is Tonight in?
Ab major, at about 132 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Tonight?
Hopscotch steps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Tonight 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.