Piano chords · Waltz garden
How to play Acrobat on piano
Written by U2
- A minor
- 3/4
- 160 BPM
- 1991
- Medium
Learn Acrobat in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: A – Am – A – Am
Acrobat sits in A minor: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; Am is A, C and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AIAmiAIAmi- AA · C# · E
- AmA · C · E
- 2
Left hand: Waltz roots
One low note on each of the three beats: a simple waltz floor. Musicians call it root bass · 3/4 quarters (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 391 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Spinning-top chords
Six even chords in a three-beat bar, spinning round and round. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 160 BPM
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: F – G – Am
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGAm- FF · A · C
- GG · B · D
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Questions about Acrobat
What chords are in Acrobat?
The loop is A – Am – A – Am (I5 – i – I5 – i) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.
What key is Acrobat in?
A minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 3/4.
What does the left hand play in Acrobat?
Waltz roots: root bass · 3/4 quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Acrobat 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.