Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Waterloo Sunset on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Waterloo Sunset in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Eb – Bb – Ab – Eb
Waterloo Sunset sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Bb is Bb, D and F; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EbIBbVAbIVEbI
- EbEb · G · Bb
- BbBb · D · F
- AbAb · C · Eb
202 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Double-skip footsteps
Steady steps with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 397 songs of the library.
Double-skip footstepsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Ticking clock
One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Ticking clockRepeated-note pulse · RockRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 108 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: Ab – Bb – Eb
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbEb

What chords are in Waterloo Sunset?

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

What key is Waterloo Sunset in?

Eb major, at about 108 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Waterloo Sunset?

Double-skip footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Waterloo Sunset 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.