Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play You Can Leave Your Hat On on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn You Can Leave Your Hat On in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C7 – Bb – F – C7
How it goes
You Can Leave Your Hat On sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C7 is C, E, G and Bb; Bb is Bb, D and F; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
C7I7BbbVIIFIVC7I7
- C7C · E · G · Bb
- BbBb · D · F
- FF · A · C
2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
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.
Pop heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Pumping chords
How it goes
A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Pumping chordsPumping 8ths · RockRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 100 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: F – G – C
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGC
- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G

What chords are in You Can Leave Your Hat On?

The loop is C7 – Bb – F – C7 (I7 – bVII – IV – I7) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is You Can Leave Your Hat On in?

C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in You Can Leave Your Hat On?

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 You Can Leave Your Hat On 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.