What Child Is This? Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn What Child Is This? in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Em – D – C – B7
What Child Is This? sits in E minor: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Em is E, G and B; D is D, F# and A; C is C, E and G; B7 is B, D#, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EmiDVIICVIB7V7
- EmE · G · B
- DD · F# · A
- CC · E · G
- B7B · D# · F# · A
6 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Moon River roll
A wide, flowing roll in three, the Moon River feel. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4) (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 441 songs of the library.
Moon River rollOpen arpeggio · WaltzLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Waltz push chords
Chord, a push before beat 3, then the landing: a waltz with a nudge. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Waltz push chordsSyncopated chords · WaltzRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 135 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: C – D – Em
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDEm

What chords are in What Child Is This??

The loop is Em – D – C – B7 (i – bVII – bVI – V7) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.

What key is What Child Is This? in?

E minor, at about 135 beats a minute in 3/4.

What does the left hand play in What Child Is This??

Moon River roll: open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is What Child Is This? 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.