Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play You’ll Be Back on piano

By Lin-Manuel Miranda

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Late-hop footstepsRight hand Run-up chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn You’ll Be Back in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: G – G7 – C – Am

    You’ll Be Back sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; G7 is G, B, D and F; C is C, E and G; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    GIG7I7CIVAmii
    • GG · B · D
    • G7G · B · D · F
    • CC · E · G
    • AmA · C · E
    18 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Late-hop footsteps

    Steady low-high steps with one quick extra hop after beat 3. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 659 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Run-up chords

    Four steady chords plus a quick extra one leading into the next bar. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 122 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: C – D – G

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

    CDG
    • DD · F# · A

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Questions about You’ll Be Back

What chords are in You’ll Be Back?

The loop is G – G7 – C – Am (I – I7 – IV – ii) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is You’ll Be Back in?

G major, at about 122 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in You’ll Be Back?

Late-hop footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is You’ll Be Back easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.