Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Animals on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Animals in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Em – D – C – Em
Animals sits in E minor: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Em is E, G and B; D is D, F# and A; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EmiDVIICVIEmi
- EmE · G · B
- DD · F# · A
- CC · E · G
25 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Butterfly heartbeat
A quick fluttery group at the start, then a long glide to beat 4. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1a · 2 · 2& · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 89 songs of the library.
Butterfly heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Pumping chords
A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Pumping chordsPumping 8ths · RockRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 96 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: C – D – Em
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDEm

What chords are in Animals?

The loop is Em – D – C – Em (i – bVII – bVI – i) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.

What key is Animals in?

E minor, at about 96 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Animals?

Butterfly heartbeat: root bass · 1 · 1a · 2 · 2& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Animals 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.