Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play What I Gotta Do on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn What I Gotta Do in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Gb – Ab – Gb – Ab
What I Gotta Do sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Gb is Gb, Bb and Db; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GbbVIAbbVIIGbbVIAbbVII
- GbGb · Bb · Db
- AbAb · C · Eb
19 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Lazy footsteps
One long low note, then two calm steps to finish the bar. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 3 · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Lazy footstepsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
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 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: Eb – F – Bb
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbFBb
- EbEb · G · Bb
- FF · A · C
- BbBb · D · F

What chords are in What I Gotta Do?

The loop is Gb – Ab – Gb – Ab (bVI – bVII – bVI – bVII) in Bb major, and the song ends on Eb – F – Bb.

What key is What I Gotta Do in?

Bb major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in What I Gotta Do?

Lazy footsteps: root bass · 1 · 3 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is What I Gotta Do 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.