I Want To Break Free Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn I Want To Break Free in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: A – B – C#m – B
How it goes
I Want To Break Free sits in E major: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; B is B, D# and F#; C#m is C#, E and G#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AIVBVC#mviBV
- AA · C# · E
- BB · D# · F#
- C#mC# · E · G#
34 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Double-skip footsteps
How it goes
Steady steps with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 397 songs of the library.
Double-skip footstepsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: the chords, held
How it goes
In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.
4
Both hands at 150 BPM
How it goes
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: A – B – E
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
ABE
- EE · G# · B

What chords are in I Want To Break Free?

The loop is A – B – C#m – B (IV – V – vi – V) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is I Want To Break Free in?

E major, at about 150 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in I Want To Break Free?

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

Is I Want To Break Free 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.