Piano chords · Waltz garden
What Child Is This?: piano accompaniment sheet music
- E minor
- 3/4
- 135 BPM
- i–bVII–bVI–V7 loop
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
What Child Is This? written out as piano music: the i – bVII – bVI – V7 loop in E minor for both hands, with chord names and finger numbers. Press play and follow the cursor. The left hand plays moon river roll (open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4)) and the right hand waltz push chords.
What Child Is This? chord chart
The loop once round, bar by bar, in E minor. The roman numeral says the chord's place in the key, so the same chart works in any key.
| Bar | Chord | Numeral | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Em | i | E G B |
| 2 | D | VII | D F# A |
| 3 | C | VI | C E G |
| 4 | B7 | V7 | B D# F# A |
What the sheet music shows
The grand staff: the right hand on the treble staff, the left hand on the bass staff, with the chord names above and a finger number on each note (1 is the thumb). It is the accompaniment: moon river roll (open arpeggio 1-5-10 (3/4)) in the left hand and waltz push chords in the right, over the Em – D – C – B7 chords.
Press play and a cursor follows the music. Above it, Colours paints each note in its key’s colour and Note names writes its letter on its head.
Play next
More by Christmas Carol
The same i–bVII–bVI–V7 loop
Questions about What Child Is This?
Does the sheet music for What Child Is This? have finger numbers?
Yes: every note of both hands has its finger number, 1 being the thumb. To read the notes alone, turn Fingers off above the music.
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.
Made from 6 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.