Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play The Passenger on piano
Written by Iggy Pop & Ricky Gardiner
- Bb minor
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 1977
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn The Passenger in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Bbm – Gb – Db
How it goes
The Passenger sits in Bb minor: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Bbm is Bb, Db and F; Gb is Gb, Bb and Db; Db is Db, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbVIIBbmiGbVIDbIII- AbAb · C · Eb
- BbmBb · Db · F
- GbGb · Bb · Db
- DbDb · F · Ab
- 2
Left hand: Walking roots
How it goes
One low note on every beat, steady as walking feet. Musicians call it root bass · quarters (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Running-late chords
How it goes
Misses beat 1, then hurries in with busy chords around the beats. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 100 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: Gb – Ab – Bbm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GbAbBbm
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Questions about The Passenger
What chords are in The Passenger?
The loop is Ab – Bbm – Gb – Db (bVII – i – bVI – bIII) in Bb minor, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Bbm.
What key is The Passenger in?
Bb minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in The Passenger?
Walking roots: root bass · quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Passenger 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.