Alive Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn Alive in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

1
Chords: Bb – Gm – Eb – Fsus4
Alive sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Bb is Bb, D and F; Gm is G, Bb and D; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Fsus4 is F, Bb and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BbIGmviEbIVFsus4Vsus4
- BbBb · D · F
- GmG · Bb · D
- EbEb · G · Bb
- Fsus4F · Bb · C
12 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Power fifths
Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Power fifthsLeft-hand chords · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Freeze-tag chords
Chord, chord-and, then freeze for the rest of the bar. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Freeze-tag chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 90 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: Fsus4 – F – Bb
The last chords are Vsus – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
Fsus4FBb
- FF · A · C

What chords are in Alive?

The loop is Bb – Gm – Eb – Fsus4 (I – vi – IV – Vsus) in Bb major, and the song ends on Fsus4 – F – Bb.

What key is Alive in?

Bb major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Alive?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Alive 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.