Piano chords · Waltz garden
How to play What Child Is This? on piano
By Traditional
- D minor
- 3/4
- 120 BPM
- i–IV–i–IV loop
- Medium
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: Dm – G – Dm – G
What Child Is This? sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dm is D, F and A; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DmiGIVDmiGIV- DmD · F · A
- GG · B · D
- 2
Left hand: Swan glide
Up the chord, then rocking between two notes: a smooth, gliding waltz. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-3-5-3 (3/4) (broken chord), a medium pattern heard in 28 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Waltz bells
A single high note, then two chords: ding, dong, dong in three. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 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: Bb – C – Dm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
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Questions about What Child Is This?
What chords are in What Child Is This??
The loop is Dm – G – Dm – G (i – IV – i – IV) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is What Child Is This? in?
D minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 3/4.
What does the left hand play in What Child Is This??
Swan glide: broken chord 1-3-5-3-5-3 (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 one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.