Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Who Put The Bomp on piano

Written by Barry Mann & Gerry Goffin

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Island pulseRight hand Double-skip chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn Who Put The Bomp in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Bb – Gm – Cm – F7

    How it goes

    Who Put The Bomp sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bb is Bb, D and F; Gm is G, Bb and D; Cm is C, Eb and G; F7 is F, A, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    BbIGmviCmiiF7V7
    • BbBb · D · F
    • GmG · Bb · D
    • CmC · Eb · G
    • F7F · A · C · Eb
    160 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Island pulse

    How it goes

    Three, three, two: the island rhythm in so many pop hits. Musicians call it root bass · tresillo 3-3-2 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Double-skip chords

    How it goes

    Steady chords with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 80 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. 5

    Ending: Cm – F7 – Bb

    How it goes

    The last chords are ii – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    CmF7Bb

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Questions about Who Put The Bomp

What chords are in Who Put The Bomp?

The loop is Bb – Gm – Cm – F7 (I – vi – ii – V7) in Bb major, and the song ends on Cm – F7 – Bb.

What key is Who Put The Bomp in?

Bb major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Who Put The Bomp?

Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Who Put The Bomp 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.