Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Get Down on piano
Written by Curtis Mayfield
- F# minor
- 4/4
- 117 BPM
- 1971
- Medium
Learn Get Down in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: B – F#m – B – F#m
Get Down sits in F# minor: F# is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: B is B, D# and F#; F#m is F#, A and C#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BIVF#miBIVF#mi- BB · D# · F#
- F#mF# · A · C#
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Hurrying chords
Calm chords in the first half, then twice as fast to the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 117 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 – F#m
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DEF#m- DD · F# · A
- EE · G# · B
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Questions about Get Down
What chords are in Get Down?
The loop is B – F#m – B – F#m (IV – i – IV – i) in F# minor, and the song ends on D – E – F#m.
What key is Get Down in?
F# minor, at about 117 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Get Down?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Get Down 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.