Piano chords · Bossa beach
How to play Don’t Panic on piano
By Coldplay
- A minor
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- 2000
- Medium
Learn Don’t Panic in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F – Am – C – F
Don’t Panic sits in A minor: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; Am is A, C and E; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FVIAmiCIIIFVI- FF · A · C
- AmA · C · E
- CC · E · G
- 2
Left hand: Bossa sway
Long-short, long-short, leaning ahead: a gentle Brazilian sway. Musicians call it root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Pumping chords
A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. 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: F – G – Am
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGAm- GG · B · D
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Questions about Don’t Panic
What chords are in Don’t Panic?
The loop is F – Am – C – F (bVI – i – bIII – bVI) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.
What key is Don’t Panic in?
A minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Don’t Panic?
Bossa sway: root bass · bossa (1 · 2& · 3 · 4&), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Don’t Panic 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.