Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play When The Time Comes on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn When The Time Comes in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Em – G – D – Am
When The Time Comes sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Em is E, G and B; G is G, B and D; D is D, F# and A; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EmviGIDVAmii
- EmE · G · B
- GG · B · D
- DD · F# · A
- AmA · C · E
12 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Double-clap chords
Quick double claps on beats 2 and 4, leaving beats 1 and 3 empty. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Double-clap chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 69 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 – D – G
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDG
- CC · E · G

What chords are in When The Time Comes?

The loop is Em – G – D – Am (vi – I – V – ii) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is When The Time Comes in?

G major, at about 69 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in When The Time Comes?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is When The Time Comes 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.