Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
In The Air Tonight: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes
By Phil Collins
- D minor
- 4/4
- 92 BPM
- 1980
- Medium
The accompaniment with every note named, bar by bar: the bar sheet shows each note as a bar on the staff with its letter inside, so you can accompany In The Air Tonight without reading music. The left hand plays pop heartbeat (root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3)) and the right hand pony-trot chords.
The repeating figure of In The Air Tonight in letter notes
The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.
In The Air Tonight accompaniment in letter notes
The C – Bb – C – Dm loop with pop heartbeat in the left hand and pony-trot chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.
How to read the bar sheet
The player above shows the treble staff (right hand) over the bass staff (left hand). Every note is a bar as long as it sounds, at its place on the staff, with its name inside, and the music scrolls past a line that marks now. The chord names run along the top.
Start with the left hand alone at a slow speed, then the right, then both. When the letters feel easy, try the sheet music.
Play next
Questions about In The Air Tonight
What are the letter notes for the In The Air Tonight piano accompaniment?
Bar by bar, both hands: the bar sheet on this page names every note of the accompaniment (C4 is middle C) and plays along. The loop is C – Bb – C – Dm, so the letters repeat with the chords.
What chords are in In The Air Tonight?
The loop is C – Bb – C – Dm (VII – VI – VII – i) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is In The Air Tonight in?
D minor, at about 92 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in In The Air Tonight?
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 In The Air Tonight 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.
Can I hear the real melody of In The Air Tonight?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.