Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Bartender on piano
Written by Faheem Najm & Aliaune Thiam
- F minor
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 2007
- Medium
Learn Bartender in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Fm – Db – Cm – Fm
Bartender sits in F minor: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Fm is F, Ab and C; Db is Db, F and Ab; Cm is C, Eb and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FmiDbVICmvFmi- FmF · Ab · C
- DbDb · F · Ab
- CmC · Eb · G
- 2
Left hand: Skipping-stone pulse
One strong note, then two bounces on the “ands”, like a stone on water. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2& · 3& (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 282 songs of the library.
- 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
Both hands at 100 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: Db – Eb – Fm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbFm- EbEb · G · Bb
Play next
Questions about Bartender
What chords are in Bartender?
The loop is Fm – Db – Cm – Fm (i – bVI – v – i) in F minor, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Fm.
What key is Bartender in?
F minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Bartender?
Skipping-stone pulse: root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Bartender 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.