Great Balls of Fire is the rock and roll super hit made famous by piano legend Jerry Lee Lewis. In this Great Balls of Fire tutorial, I teach you how to play the chords, the boogie woogie accompaniment and even a rocking piano solo! Perfect for players of different levels!
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Learn the chords, accompaniment and get ready to rock and roll!
Great Balls of Fire is the Rock and Roll classic by singer/pianist Jerry Lee Lewis. Written by songwriting duo Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer and recorded in 1957, it was released on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree.
Great Balls of Fire follows the AABA form that is more commonly seen in classic Broadway songs and Tin Pan Alley standards, which shows that it is in a transitionary time in American music. It was an enormous hit for Jerry Lee Lewis and was ranked 96th of the greatest songs ever.
Great Balls of Fire maintains a Blues feel, in that it uses the I7, IV7 and V7 chords. Rather than the 12 bars of the Blues, it fits those chords into 8 bar phrases. We also use the major and minor pentatonic scales to improvise, as we would on a standard Blues.
Let's go!
Great Balls of Fire Lyrics and Chords
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Great Balls of Fire Opening
Great Balls of Fire starts will these hits. It is well worth it to learn them!
Great Balls of Fire "A" Section
The LH follows the standard Boogie Woogie pattern, switching between the Root/5 and Root/6 over and over. You are welcome to experiment with other Boogie Woogie patterns too! You can hold the chords down in the RH or play around with different rhythms and fills.
Great Balls of Fire "B" Section
We continue with the Boogie Woogie pattern throughout the B Section. You can hold the chords down in the RH or play around with different rhythms and fills.
Improvisation Section
To improvise a solo and/or fills, you can use the major and minor pentatonic scales. Major: 5-6-1-2-3 (G-A-C-D-E). Minor: 5-6-1-2-b3 (G-A-C-D-Eb)
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