Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play Costume Makes The Clown on piano
By Shakira
- C minor
- 4/4
- 82 BPM
- 2005
- Medium
Learn Costume Makes The Clown in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: C – Ab – C – Ab
Costume Makes The Clown sits in C minor: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIAbVICIAbVI- CC · E · G
- AbAb · C · Eb
- 2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Zigzag chords
Steady at first, then a quick zigzag of chords around beat 3. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 82 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: Ab – Bb – Cm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbCm- BbBb · D · F
- CmC · Eb · G
Play next
Questions about Costume Makes The Clown
What chords are in Costume Makes The Clown?
The loop is C – Ab – C – Ab (I5 – bVI5 – I5 – bVI5) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.
What key is Costume Makes The Clown in?
C minor, at about 82 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Costume Makes The Clown?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Costume Makes The Clown 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.