Piano Cover of "We Bless Your Name"

We Bless Your Name piano chords sound grand on a Joyous Celebration recording, with a full choir and band behind them. In my solo cover in the video above, the challenge was fitting all of that into two hands in B♭ major without the sound getting cluttered. Here’s how I did it, and how you can carry the song from your keyboard on Sunday.

Adoration with a pulse

We Bless Your Name sits at around 141 BPM, but the feel is adoration rather than a shout. It works well at the turn of a set, when praise is giving way to worship, or as a song of thanks after the Word. The tempo keeps things moving while the melody does the reverent work.

On a recording by Joyous Celebration, the bass holds the bottom, pads fill the middle and the choir carries the emotion. On solo piano, you have to cover all three jobs at once. The secret is restraint.

Getting set in B♭ major

B♭ major has two flats, B♭ and E♭, and it’s one of the most common keys for gospel choirs. The chord family:

• 1: B♭ (B♭, D, F)
• 2m: Cm (C, E♭, G)
• 4: E♭ (E♭, G, B♭)
• 5: F (F, A, C)
• 6m: Gm (G, B♭, D)

A warm grand piano is all you need for a solo setting. With a band, add a light pad and keep the piano a bit brighter so it cuts through.

We Bless Your Name piano chords: the bigger picture

We haven’t charted this song yet, so I won’t print a specific progression. It lives in the classic gospel family above: the 1, 4 and 5 hold the song up, and the 6m and 2m are where the warmth comes from. What makes it sound like gospel is less the main chords and more how you connect them.

Voicings from the cover

Open the left hand

Clustered chords low on the keyboard get muddy fast. I use open tenths and deep octaves instead. On B♭, play B♭ with your fifth finger and D an octave and a third above with your thumb. If your hand can’t stretch that far, roll it quickly from bottom to top. It gives a wide, warm floor for the melody.

Suspensions for tension and release

Try holding a sus4 for an extra beat before resolving. Fsus4 (F, B♭, C) into F, or B♭sus4 (B♭, E♭, F) into B♭. It sounds like taking a breath and letting it out, which suits a song of adoration.

Diminished passing chords

This is the move that gives it South African gospel warmth. To walk from the 1 up to the 2m, slide a diminished chord in between: B♭, then Bdim (B, D, F), then Cm. The bass climbs B♭, B, C by half steps. Do the same from the 4 to the 5: E♭, Edim (E, G, B♭), F. Keep each passing chord short, a beat at most.

Sit behind the beat

I play this slightly behind the beat, deep in the pocket. It takes away any sense of rush, even at 141 BPM.

Moving to another key

Choirs often move this up or down depending on the soloist. Know the song as 1, 4, 5, 6m and 2m, and the passing chords as ♯1dim and ♯4dim, and any key is just a new starting point. In A, the 1 to 2m walk becomes A, A♯dim, Bm.

Gig Mode gives you the letters in any key. To work out the diminished shapes before Sunday, the Chord Voicing Lab shows every note.

A 20-minute practice plan

1. 5 minutes: open tenths in the left hand on B♭, E♭, F and Gm.
2. 5 minutes: the B♭, Bdim, Cm walk and the E♭, Edim, F walk, slowly.
3. 5 minutes: sus4 resolutions, holding each sus for a full beat.
4. 5 minutes: play along with the video above and watch how the hands share the work.

FAQ

What key is We Bless Your Name in?

B♭ major in our cover.

Can I play it without a band?

Yes. Open left-hand voicings and passing diminished chords give a solo piano enough body to carry it.

For another fast song in B♭, take a look at Makombandlela.