Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Good Grief on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Good Grief in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Db – Ab – Gb – Db
Good Grief sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Db is Db, F and Ab; Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Gb is Gb, Bb and Db. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DbIVAbIGbbVIIDbIV
- DbDb · F · Ab
- AbAb · C · Eb
- GbGb · Bb · Db
39 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Gear-shift pulse
Quick even notes that skip beat 3, like an engine changing gear. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 181 songs of the library.
Gear-shift pulseRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
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.
Pumping chordsPumping 8ths · RockRight handMedium
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: Fm – Db – Ab
The last chords are vi – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FmDbAb
- FmF · Ab · C

What chords are in Good Grief?

The loop is Db – Ab – Gb – Db (IV – I – bVII – IV) in Ab major, and the song ends on Fm – Db – Ab.

What key is Good Grief in?

Ab major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Good Grief?

Gear-shift pulse: root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Good Grief 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.