Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Breaking Free on piano
By Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron
- C minor
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 2005
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Breaking Free in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Cm – F – Ab – Eb
How it goes
Breaking Free sits in C minor: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Cm is C, Eb and G; F is F, A and C; Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Eb is Eb, G and Bb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CmiFIVAbVIEbIII- CmC · Eb · G
- FF · A · C
- AbAb · C · Eb
- EbEb · G · Bb
- 2
Left hand: Late-hop footsteps
How it goes
Steady low-high steps with one quick extra hop after beat 3. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 659 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Running-late chords
How it goes
Misses beat 1, then hurries in with busy chords around the beats. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 100 BPM
How it goes
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: Ab – Bb – Cm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbCm- BbBb · D · F
Play next
Questions about Breaking Free
What chords are in Breaking Free?
The loop is Cm – F – Ab – Eb (i – IV – bVI – bIII) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.
What key is Breaking Free in?
C minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Breaking Free?
Late-hop footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 3 · 3& · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Breaking Free 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.