How To Play Any Song On The Guitar Or Piano

How to Play Almost Any Song in the World on Piano

I’ve been teaching music and leading bands for over 20 years.

Most songs can be played using just four chords.That’s right—four.

In music theory terms, they’re called the 1 chord, 4 chord, 5 chord, and 6 chord. If that sounds like gibberish to you, don’t worry—I’ll make it make sense.

Let’s Use a Song You Know

We’re going to use Let It Be by The Beatles as our reference point.

Or if you're more of a '90s kid, we could use With or Without You by U2.

Both of these songs are built on the same four chords:1 – 5 – 6 – 4

Over and over.

If you learn how these chords feel in these familiar songs—how they move, how they sound—then you’ve got a "sense" roadmap, as well as a conceptual framework to understand it.

You’ll be able to start recognizing these same chord movements in thousands of other songs.

Try It Out

As you listen to With or Without You, pay attention:

• The 1 chord – (“See the stone…”)

• The 5 chord – (“…set in your eyes…”)

• The 6 chord – (keep singing…)

• The 4 chord – (you’ll feel it settle here)

Once these patterns are in your ears, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can pick out chords in other songs.

Even something like Auld Lang Syne becomes easy to figure out: (Secret: it uses the same 4 chords int he same order)

And if you’re a church musician, this opens up everything. You can figure out how to play almost any hymn using this method.

That’s exactly what I did to create my Lead Sheet Hymnal—built for families, church musicians, homeschoolers, and music teachers who want to make music simple and joyful again.

🎶 Want more?

Check out my hymnal, free sample pages, and teaching videos at

👉 jeredmckenna.com