Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Coastal on piano
Written by Michael Mobley, Neil Thrasher & others
- Ab major
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- I–vi–I–vi loop
- 2009
- Medium
Learn Coastal in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Fm – Ab – Fm
Coastal sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Fm is F, Ab and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIFmviAbIFmvi- AbAb · C · Eb
- FmF · Ab · C
- 2
Left hand: Double-skip footsteps
Steady steps with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 397 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Sprint-and-stop chords
Four quick chords in the first half, then a calm, empty second half. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 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
Ending: Db – Eb – Ab
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbAb- DbDb · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb
Play next
Questions about Coastal
What chords are in Coastal?
The loop is Ab – Fm – Ab – Fm (I – vi – I – vi) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.
What key is Coastal in?
Ab major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Coastal?
Double-skip footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Coastal 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.