Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Cannons on piano
Artist unknown
- D minor
- 4/4
- 136 BPM
- 2014
- Medium
Learn Cannons in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – A – Ab – A
Cannons sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
Ab#IVAVAb#IVAV- AbAb · C · Eb
- AA · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 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 136 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: Bb – C – Dm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
- DmD · F · A
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Questions about Cannons
What chords are in Cannons?
The loop is Ab – A – Ab – A (#IV5 – V5 – #IV5 – V5) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is Cannons in?
D minor, at about 136 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Cannons?
Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Cannons 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.