Piano Cover of "Themba Lendalo Yonke"

Playing along with the video? The embedded piano demonstration is in C♯/D♭. The written chord examples below use A♭. Use the all-key chord and number chart and its D♭ chorus row when following the video; keep the A♭ examples for practice in that key.

Themba Lendalo Yonke piano chords cover more of the scale than most worship songs, which makes this Oncemore Six song a great one for growing your ear. The title is isiZulu for “hope of all creation”. It sits in A♭ major at 112 BPM, a confident mid-tempo walk.

Where it lands in the service

At 112 BPM this isn’t a slow worship moment and it isn’t a full-on praise song either. It’s a declaration song, the kind that lifts a room after the opening praise and leads it into worship. The melody moves around a lot, and so do the chords, so the keys player carries a lot of the song’s sense of journey.

A♭ major and the six chords you need

Four flats: A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G. Here’s what’s on our full chord chart for Themba Lendalo Yonke:

• 1: A♭ (A♭, C, E♭)
• 2m: B♭m (B♭, D♭, F)
• 3m: Cm (C, E♭, G)
• 4: D♭ (D♭, F, A♭)
• 5: E♭ (E♭, G, B♭)
• 6m: Fm (F, A♭, C)

That’s every diatonic chord except the 7. A grand piano with a light pad is the safe patch; switch to a brighter piano for the chorus if you can.

Walking through the Themba Lendalo Yonke piano chords

• Verse: 1, 4, 1, 6m, 5, 1, 3m, 4, 3m, 5, 1 (A♭, D♭, A♭, Fm, E♭, A♭, Cm, D♭, Cm, E♭, A♭)
• Chorus: 1, 3m, 4, 2m, 5, 1 (A♭, Cm, D♭, B♭m, E♭, A♭)

The verse is long, but it splits neatly in two. The first half (A♭, D♭, A♭, Fm, E♭, A♭) is a familiar worship shape. The second half is where the song gets its colour: Cm, D♭, Cm, E♭. The 3m rocking back and forth with the 4 is a gentle, searching sound, and it sets up the return home.

The chorus is a lovely bass-line chorus. Play just the roots, A♭, C, D♭, B♭, E♭, A♭, and you’ll hear it climb, step back and resolve. That’s the 2m to 5 to 1 cadence at the end, the strongest landing in gospel.

Voicings for 112 BPM

• Right hand: four-note chords with the 7th. A♭maj7 is A♭, C, E♭, G. D♭maj7 is D♭, F, A♭, C. Cm7 is C, E♭, G, B♭. B♭m7 is B♭, D♭, F, A♭.
• Left hand: roots, with a light walk where the chart moves by step. In the chorus, the bass line above already walks for you, so just play it cleanly.
• Keep the top still: Cm7 and A♭maj7 share C, E♭ and G. When the chords move between them, try to leave those fingers where they are.

The gospel lift: in the chorus, turn the 2m (B♭m) into B♭7 (B♭, D, F, A♭) on its way to E♭. That’s the 2 played as a dominant, a secondary dominant, and it gives the cadence real push. Save it for the last chorus so it means something. You can hear the difference in the Chord Voicing Lab.

When the leader calls another key

With six different chords, transposing by shape is risky. Think in numbers instead. Our chart has an every-key table, so open the chart and read across to the new key. In G, for example, the chorus becomes G, Bm, C, Am, D, G. On the day, Gig Mode keeps it on screen for you.

A 20-minute plan

1. Play the chorus bass line alone until you can sing along with it.
2. Add right-hand 7th voicings to the chorus at a slow tempo.
3. Learn the verse in two halves, then join them, with the Smart Metronome working up to 112.
4. For the video in C♯/D♭, use the D♭ row in the all-key chart. For the written A♭ exercise, try B♭7 on the final chorus.

FAQ

What key is Themba Lendalo Yonke in?

The written guide uses A♭ major at 112 BPM; the embedded piano video plays in C♯/D♭. Use the number chart to follow it in that key.

What does Themba Lendalo Yonke mean?

It’s isiZulu for “hope of all creation”.

Want more Oncemore Six? Try Here on Our Knees next.