Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Whatever It Takes on piano
- C major
- 2/2
- 135 BPM
- Medium
Learn Whatever It Takes in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Am – G – Em – Am
Whatever It Takes sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; G is G, B and D; Em is E, G and B. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmviGVEmiiiAmvi- AmA · C · E
- GG · B · D
- EmE · G · B
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Hurrying chords
Calm chords in the first half, then twice as fast to the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 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 – G – C
The last chords are I – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CGC- CC · E · G
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Questions about Whatever It Takes
What chords are in Whatever It Takes?
The loop is Am – G – Em – Am (vi – V – iii – vi) in C major, and the song ends on C – G – C.
What key is Whatever It Takes in?
C major, at about 135 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Whatever It Takes?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Whatever It Takes 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.