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(I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise: piano accompaniment sheet music

By Rufus Wainwright

Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Power fifthsRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

(I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise written out as piano music: the V7 – I – V7 – I loop in C major for both hands, with chord names and finger numbers. Press play and follow the cursor. The left hand plays power fifths (lh power fifths) and the right hand steady chords.

(I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise chord chart

The loop once round, bar by bar, in C major. The roman numeral says the chord's place in the key, so the same chart works in any key.

BarChordNumeralNotes
1G7V7G B D F
2CIC E G
3G7V7G B D F
4CIC E G

What the sheet music shows

The grand staff: the right hand on the treble staff, the left hand on the bass staff, with the chord names above and a finger number on each note (1 is the thumb). It is the accompaniment: power fifths (lh power fifths) in the left hand and steady chords in the right, over the G7 – C – G7 – C chords.

Press play and a cursor follows the music. Above it, Colours paints each note in its key’s colour and Note names writes its letter on its head.

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Questions about (I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise

Does the sheet music for (I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise have finger numbers?

Yes: every note of both hands has its finger number, 1 being the thumb. To read the notes alone, turn Fingers off above the music.

What chords are in (I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise?

The loop is G7 – C – G7 – C (V7 – I – V7 – I) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is (I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise in?

C major, at about 130 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in (I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is (I’ll Build A) Stairway To Paradise 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.