Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Winter Song on piano

By Sara Bareilles

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Push and landRight hand Deep-breath chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Winter Song in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Bbm – Ab – Db – Gb

    Winter Song sits in Bb minor: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bbm is Bb, Db and F; Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Db is Db, F and Ab; Gb is Gb, Bb and Db. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    BbmiAbVIIDbIIIGbVI
    • BbmBb · Db · F
    • AbAb · C · Eb
    • DbDb · F · Ab
    • GbGb · Bb · Db
    14 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Push and land

    A push just before beat 3, then two calm landings. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2& · 3 · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Deep-breath chords

    A breath on beat 1, then quick chords pumping to the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 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. 5

    Ending: Gb – Ab – Bbm

    The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    GbAbBbm

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Questions about Winter Song

What chords are in Winter Song?

The loop is Bbm – Ab – Db – Gb (i – bVII – bIII – bVI) in Bb minor, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Bbm.

What key is Winter Song in?

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

What does the left hand play in Winter Song?

Push and land: root bass · 1 · 2& · 3 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Winter Song 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.