Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Sixty Years On on piano
Written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin
- B minor
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 1969
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Sixty Years On in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Bm – A – E – Bm
How it goes
Sixty Years On sits in B minor: B is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bm is B, D and F#; A is A, C# and E; E is E, G# and B. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BmiAVIIEIVBmi- BmB · D · F#
- AA · C# · E
- EE · G# · B
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Waterfall
How it goes
Down from the top and splashing between two notes, over and over. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 BPM
How it goes
Put the two hands together over the loop. Start at half speed with the player's speed control, and bring it up once every change is easy.
- 5
Ending: G – A – Bm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GABm- GG · B · D
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Questions about Sixty Years On
What chords are in Sixty Years On?
The loop is Bm – A – E – Bm (i – bVII – IV – i) in B minor, and the song ends on G – A – Bm.
What key is Sixty Years On in?
B minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Sixty Years On?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Sixty Years On easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.