Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play Free As A Bird on piano
Written by John Lennon
- A major
- 4/4
- 84 BPM
- 1977
- Medium
Learn Free As A Bird in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: A – F#m – Dm – G
Free As A Bird sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; F#m is F#, A and C#; Dm is D, F and A; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AIF#mviDmivGbVII- AA · C# · E
- F#mF# · A · C#
- DmD · F · A
- GG · B · D
- 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: Hopscotch chords
Chord, chord, skip beat 3, chord: hopping over a square. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 84 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 – E – A
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DEA- DD · F# · A
- EE · G# · B
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Questions about Free As A Bird
What chords are in Free As A Bird?
The loop is A – F#m – Dm – G (I – vi – iv – bVII) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.
What key is Free As A Bird in?
A major, at about 84 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Free As A Bird?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Free As A Bird 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.