Other arrangements of If I Only Had The Words
Pick a learning view.
If I (A)on ly had the words
(A)to tell you,
if you (Bm7)on ly had the time to (Bm7)un der stand.
Though I (A)know it would n’t (A)change
your (D)feel ings,
and I (Bm7)know you’ll car ry on the best you can.
If I (A)on ly had the urge
(A)to tell you,
if you (Bm7)on ly knew how hard it is to say.
When the (A)sim ple lines have (A)all
been (D)tak en
and the (Bm7)ra di o re peats them ev ’ry day,
if I (C)nev er find the (C)song
(C)to sing you,
if you al ways had find it hard to com un pre hend,
well, you (C)know ly there would n’t be
much (Fmaj7)mean ing,
if I (F)all to that you can ask tired of an y man.
(C)gain.
(E7)Life
goes (E7)on and on,
and to night
will (G)soon be gone.
But if we (Fmaj7)try
we (Em7)can be (Dm7)sure.
(G)If I
(C)La,
(F7)la, la, la.
(D7)La, la, la.
If I (C)on ly had the (C)words
(C)to tell you,
if you (Dm7)on ly had the time to un der stand.
Oh, (G)but I (C)on ly have these (C)arms
to (Fmaj7)hold you,
and it’s (Dm7)all that you can ask of an y man.
If I Only Had The Words — Classic Piano Sheet Music
18 people have learned this song
Read "If I Only Had The Words" by Billy Joel in classic piano notation — both hands, real chords + notes, in the published key of A. Engraved server-side from the publisher MusicXML; click any note to jump there as the score follows along at 72 BPM.
This arrangement will stretch your chord vocabulary in a big way — with 26 different chords, your left hand needs to navigate some colorful transitions, especially moving between major, minor, and seventh shapes like Fmaj7 to Fm, or Dm7 to G9.
At 72 BPM you have breathing room, but don't let the slow tempo fool you into coasting; use it to land each voicing cleanly before the next one arrives.
I'd suggest learning the chord progression hands-separate first, drilling any passage where you shift between unrelated keys — the moves around Bb and F will feel foreign in a song rooted in A, so loop those bars until the shapes sit in your fingers.
Watch your sustain pedal closely through the seventh chords; lifting too late will blur those rich harmonics into mud.
The biggest stumbling point is usually the sheer number of chord changes, so mark the three or four trickiest swaps and slow-repeat them daily.
This is the piece that'll make jazzy extended chords — ninths, suspended voicings, major sevenths — feel like a natural part of your playing instead of something intimidating.
Try other practice modes:
About “If I Only Had The Words”
- Is this the same engraved sheet music a piano teacher would print for "If I Only Had The Words"?
- Yes — the score is rendered server-side from the publisher MusicXML using Verovio (the same engine RISM and OpenScore use). Standard piano notation, treble + bass staves, real chord symbols, key signature A. Print-quality and identical to what you'd see in a printed piano book.
- What key is "If I Only Had The Words" by Billy Joel played in?
- If I Only Had The Words is arranged in the key of A on Super Simple Piano. You can transpose to any other key live in the player.
- What's the tempo (BPM) of "If I Only Had The Words"?
- The arrangement plays at 72 BPM. Use the speed control (10-200%) to practice slower or play faster.
- Is "If I Only Had The Words" easy to play on piano?
- This is a medium-difficulty arrangement. Most players can learn it within a few practice sessions using the speed control.
- Can I download sheet music for "If I Only Had The Words"?
- Yes — registered users can download PDF sheet music, plus MIDI and MusicXML files for use in other notation software.
- Who composed "If I Only Had The Words"?
- "If I Only Had The Words" was originally performed by Billy Joel. The Super Simple Piano arrangement is simplified for beginner-to-intermediate players.
- What chords are used in "If I Only Had The Words"?
- This arrangement uses 26 chords: A, Am, Am7, Bb, Bb9, Bm7, C, C7, +18 more.
- What other songs by Billy Joel can I play here?
- Try "SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT", "EVERYBODY HAS A DREAM", "CAPTAIN JACK". All are in our player with color-coded notes; pick the one matching your level.
- Is this the same notation a piano teacher would hand me?
- Yes — "If I Only Had The Words" is rendered at engraver quality (the Verovio engine, the same toolkit RISM and OpenScore editions use) from the original publisher MusicXML. You get standard piano notation: treble + bass clefs, key signature A, time signature, beams, dynamics — everything a printed sheet music book would have. Great for piano students learning to read music properly.
- What's the difference between Sheet Music and the other modes here?
- Sheet Music is the "classic" view — the one your piano teacher uses. Other modes (Beginner, Fall Down, Simple Sheet, Lead Sheet) trade real notation for color-coded notes and falling shapes to help absolute beginners. Use Sheet Music once you're ready to read both hands at once from real notation.
- Can I practice from this view at my own pace?
- Yes — slow the tempo from 72 BPM down (or up) without changing the pitch. The score scrolls in time and the currently playing note is highlighted, so you can drill a tough bar at half speed and bump it up once it feels comfortable.
- Why can I click a note in the score?
- Every notehead is interactive. Click and the audio jumps to that moment so you can drill a specific phrase or bar instead of replaying from the top. The currently playing note is highlighted as the music advances so your eye never loses its place.
- Can I download the sheet music as a PDF?
- Yes — Sheet Music PDF is one of the download formats for this song. The engraved score prints page-perfect on A4 / Letter so you can practice from paper as well as on screen.