Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Fire Starter on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Fire Starter in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

1
Chords: G – A – Bm – D
Fire Starter sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; A is A, C# and E; Bm is B, D and F#; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GIVAVBmviDI
- GG · B · D
- AA · C# · E
- BmB · D · F#
- DD · F# · A
18 songs go round the same chords
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.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
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.
Offbeat skankOffbeat chords · Blues and boogie-woogieRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 130 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: D – G – D
The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DGD

What chords are in Fire Starter?

The loop is G – A – Bm – D (IV – V – vi – I) in D major, and the song ends on D – G – D.

What key is Fire Starter in?

D major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Fire Starter?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Fire Starter 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.