How to End Any Song on Piano (5-Chord Ending Lick)

How to end a song on piano: the long cadence is a five-chord ending — G, D/F♯, E7, A7sus4 and D — played under one held D, six beats round. Use it as the last bar of almost any song in D, and see three cadences hiding in it: plagal, perfect and secondary dominant. 🔓 Want to play this in every key, at your own speed? You start by hearing it, then build it. The right hand plays B, A, G♯, G, F♯ — that is 6, 5, ♯4, 4, 3 in D major — and the left hand follows underneath in thirds. Then the D on top comes in as eighth notes, and the chords appear by themselves: G, D over F♯, E7, A7sus4, back home to D. Then the theory. G is the subdominant, D/F♯ is an inverted tonic, E7 is a secondary dominant (a dominant chord from outside the key that resolves to its fifth) and A7sus4 pulls magnetically home. You hear plagal (IV–I), perfect or authentic (V–I) and the secondary dominant in one cycle, and why the held D is a different note in every chord: the 5th, the root, the ♭7, the sus4, the root again. You also sing the top line and the bass, which turns it into an ear-training exercise as well. Then the fun: anticipation, swing, bass movement, a trill, the left hand keeping the pulse, a blues-scale lick to fill the bar (with no pedal), the same exercise in D♭ major, and a small Bohemian Rhapsody twist with G♯°7 and Em7. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ▶ Related lessons • The Plagal Cadence on Piano: The 'Amen' Move That Adds Instant Emotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioscYupDYko • Beyond V–I: 8 Piano Cadences That Change How Music Ends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Zdkdxd_HY • How to Use Secondary Dominant Chords to Write Colorful Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-FwFW2Eag • Slash Chords on Piano: Turn Plain Triads Into Moving Progressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjkwbSe5Xuc • Blues Scale Piano Workout: Major & Minor Blues Scales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p46g4HXjtj0 • Free practice apps: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ lessons ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 - The Long Cadence — play it first 00:27 - Welcome — what’s in this lesson 01:54 - An ending for any song 02:21 - Three cadences in one cycle 02:45 - One note that never moves: D 03:18 - Right hand: B A G♯ G F♯ 03:47 - Left hand: thirds underneath 04:44 - Ear training: sing the top and the bass 05:55 - Add the D on top — eighth notes in 6 06:55 - The D in the left hand too 07:16 - Name the chords: G · D/F♯ · E7 · A7sus4 · D 07:58 - What each chord does 09:18 - Tension and resolution 09:30 - The D plays a different role in every chord 09:58 - Basic rhythm done — now have fun 10:13 - Don’t play the D too loudly 10:52 - Bass movement and swing 11:17 - Anticipation: 1 e & a 11:53 - Left hand keeps the pulse 12:58 - Add a trill 14:15 - Bass walk: F♯ G G♯ A in thirds 15:26 - Sixteenth-note feel 15:54 - The D on top — thicken it up 16:27 - More options: the ♭7, plain diatonic 17:13 - Left hand follows like a hawk 17:54 - Your spice — or the old faithful 18:07 - All 12 keys — try D♭ major 19:21 - Fill the bar: D major blues licks 21:19 - No pedal on the licks 21:42 - The Bohemian Rhapsody twist 22:21 - Practice app · subscribe · see you next time 💛 PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp: +91 77604 56847 📧 music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoCadence