What Can You Do With A General Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn What Can You Do With A General in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C7 – F – C7 – F
What Can You Do With A General sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C7 is C, E, G and Bb; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
C7V7FIC7V7FI
- C7C · E · G · Bb
- FF · A · C
414 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Tumble down
Three notes falling down the chord, one per beat, then a rest. Musicians call it broken chord 8-5-1 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 635 songs of the library.
Tumble downBroken chord · BalladLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Pitter-patter
A chord, then one note pattering steadily like gentle rain. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Pitter-patterTwo-note ostinato · BalladRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 100 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: G7 – C7 – F
The last chords are II7 – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
G7C7F
- G7G · B · D · F

What chords are in What Can You Do With A General?

The loop is C7 – F – C7 – F (V7 – I – V7 – I) in F major, and the song ends on G7 – C7 – F.

What key is What Can You Do With A General in?

F major, at about 100 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in What Can You Do With A General?

Tumble down: broken chord 8-5-1, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is What Can You Do With A General 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.