What Makes You Beautiful Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn What Makes You Beautiful in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: E – A – B – E
How it goes
What Makes You Beautiful sits in E major: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: E is E, G# and B; A is A, C# and E; B is B, D# and F#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EIAIVBVEI
- EE · G# · B
- AA · C# · E
- BB · D# · F#
215 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Power fifths
How it goes
Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Power fifthsLeft-hand chords · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Double island chords
How it goes
The island rhythm squeezed in twice per bar: quick and dancy. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Double island chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 120 BPM
How it goes
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: A – B – E
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
ABE

What chords are in What Makes You Beautiful?

The loop is E – A – B – E (I – IV – V – I) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is What Makes You Beautiful in?

E major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in What Makes You Beautiful?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is What Makes You Beautiful 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.