Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Cloud Number Nine on piano
Artist unknown
- D major
- 4/4
- 110 BPM
- Medium
Learn Cloud Number Nine in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: D – Em – A – G
Cloud Number Nine sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; Em is E, G and B; A is A, C# and E; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DIEmiiAVGIV- DD · F# · A
- EmE · G · B
- AA · C# · E
- GG · B · D
- 2
Left hand: Groovy roots
Notes jump around the “ands”, giving the bass a funky bounce. Musicians call it root bass · syncopated 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 363 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Offbeat skank
Chords only on the “and”: reggae and swing. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 110 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: 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 Cloud Number Nine
What chords are in Cloud Number Nine?
The loop is D – Em – A – G (I – ii – V – IV) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.
What key is Cloud Number Nine in?
D major, at about 110 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Cloud Number Nine?
Groovy roots: root bass · syncopated 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Cloud Number Nine 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.