Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Authority Song on piano

By John Mellencamp

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Pop heartbeatRight hand Ticking clockChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Authority Song in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: D – G – A – D

    Authority Song sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; G is G, B and D; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    DIGIVAVDI
    • DD · F# · A
    • GG · B · D
    • AA · C# · E
    215 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Pop heartbeat

    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. 3

    Right hand: Ticking clock

    One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 120 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. 5

    Ending: G – A – D

    The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    GAD

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Questions about Authority Song

What chords are in Authority Song?

The loop is D – G – A – D (I – IV – V – I) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Authority Song in?

D major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Authority Song?

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 Authority Song 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.