Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play You Don’t Know How It Feels on piano

By Tom Petty

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Engine 8thsThe right hand sings the tuneChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn You Don’t Know How It Feels in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: A – E – A – E

    How it goes

    You Don’t Know How It Feels sits in E major: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; E is E, G# and B. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    AIVEIAIVEI
    • AA · C# · E
    • EE · G# · B
    384 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Engine 8ths

    How it goes

    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.

  3. 3

    Right hand: the chords, held

    How it goes

    In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.

  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: E – A – E

    How it goes

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

    EAE

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Questions about You Don’t Know How It Feels

What chords are in You Don’t Know How It Feels?

The loop is A – E – A – E (IV – I – IV – I) in E major, and the song ends on E – A – E.

What key is You Don’t Know How It Feels in?

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

What does the left hand play in You Don’t Know How It Feels?

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

Is You Don’t Know How It Feels 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.