Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play I'm A Riser on piano

By Dierks Bentley

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Offbeat skankChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn I'm A Riser in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Am – C – G – F

    I'm A Riser sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; C is C, E and G; G is G, B and D; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    AmviCIGVFIV
    • AmA · C · E
    • CC · E · G
    • GG · B · D
    • FF · A · C
    24 songs go round the same chords
  2. 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. 3

    Right hand: Offbeat skank

    Chords only on the “and”: reggae and swing. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 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. 5

    Ending: Am – G – C

    The last chords are vi – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    AmGC

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Questions about I'm A Riser

What chords are in I'm A Riser?

The loop is Am – C – G – F (vi – I – V – IV) in C major, and the song ends on Am – G – C.

What key is I'm A Riser in?

C major, at about 84 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in I'm A Riser?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is I'm A Riser 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.