Piano Cover of "Modimo Rea Ho Boka"

These Modimo Rea Ho Boka piano chords live in F♯ major, and if that key makes you nervous, stay with me, because it sits better under the hands than it looks on paper. The song comes from Spirit of Praise 9, it’s sung in Sesotho, and the title means “God, we praise You.” For a keys player it’s a lesson in playing inside a choir instead of on top of it.

Where this one lands in a service

This is praise, plain and simple. It works when the worship leader wants the room on its feet and singing, but before the set tips over into full celebration. The choir carries the song. Your job is to give them a floor to stand on, not to compete with the altos for the melody.

That changes how you think about every bar. If you can hear yourself clearly over the choir, you’re probably playing too much. If the choir sounds thin when you stop, you’ve got it right.

F♯ major without the panic

F♯ major has six sharps: F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯ and E♯. That last one is the white key most of us call F, but in this key it’s E♯, and thinking of it that way keeps your chord spelling honest. Here are the chords you’ll use most, in Nashville numbers:

• 1 = F♯ (F♯, A♯, C♯)
• 4 = B (B, D♯, F♯)
• 5 = C♯ (C♯, E♯, G♯)
• 6m = D♯m (D♯, F♯, A♯)
• 2m = G♯m (G♯, B, D♯)

The nice thing about F♯ is that the 1, 4 and 6m shapes are mostly black keys, so your hand stays flat and relaxed. For the sound, pick a warm acoustic piano and, if you have one, a soft pad underneath at a low level. With a full choir in the room, a bright patch just adds noise.

Hearing the Modimo Rea Ho Boka piano chords

We haven’t charted this song yet, so I’m not going to hand you a progression I can’t stand behind. What I can say is that it lives in the major-key praise family, and the 1, 4, 5 and 6m above are your home team. Learn it from the video above, and listen in this order:

1. The bass first. Hum the bass note on each change and find it on the keyboard. That gives you the number.
2. Then the lift. Notice where the choir opens up and gets louder. Write down which number the band lands on there.
3. Then the way home. Every phrase resolves somewhere. Mark the chord just before the 1, because that’s where your turnaround will go.

Write what you hear as numbers on your run sheet, not letters. You’ll thank yourself later.

Voicing it for a Sesotho choir

South African choir songs reward full, steady chords more than flashy runs. Here’s how I’d set it up:

• Right hand: full triads in the middle of the keyboard, with the top note following the soprano line where you can hear it. F♯ voiced as A♯, C♯, F♯ sits nicely right around middle C.
• Left hand: root and octave, with the fifth added on the off-beats when the song picks up. Keep it simple and in time.
• One gospel move: before a phrase lands on the 1, try a 2m7 to 5, so G♯m7 (G♯, B, D♯, F♯) into C♯ and then home to F♯. It’s the oldest trick in church piano and it still works.
• Another option: a 5/7, which is C♯ over E♯ in the bass. Use it as a step down from the 1 when the bass is walking toward the 6m.

Pick one of those moves per song section, not all of them at once. The choir is the main event.

When the leader asks for a lower key

F♯ is a high-ish key for some leaders, so don’t be surprised when someone asks to bring it down. The fix is the same every time: keep thinking in numbers. A 1, 4, 5 and 6m in F♯ are still a 1, 4, 5 and 6m in F or E. Only the letters change.

If you need the letters fast, open Gig Mode on your phone and it’ll show you the chords in whatever key gets called. And if F♯ voicings still feel strange, try them out in the Chord Voicing Lab before Sunday.

A 15-minute practice plan

1. Five minutes: play the 1, 4, 5 and 6m in F♯ slowly, saying the number out loud as you play each one.
2. Five minutes: play along with the video using only left-hand roots. Get the changes right before you add anything.
3. Three minutes: add the right-hand triads and keep them quiet.
4. Two minutes: drop in the G♯m7 to C♯ turnaround once or twice. Stop there.

Quick questions

What key is Modimo Rea Ho Boka in?

The version we play is in F♯ major. If your leader needs it lower, F or E keep the same numbers with easier letters.

Is it hard to play?

Not really. The harmony is straightforward. The real skill is playing under the choir instead of over it.

Staying in F♯? Try our chart for Re Ya Mo Leboga next, another Sesotho praise favourite in the same key.