Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play In The Heights on piano
- G minor
- 4/4
- 160 BPM
- 2008
- Medium
Learn In The Heights in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: D7 – Gm – F – Eb
In The Heights sits in G minor: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D7 is D, F#, A and C; Gm is G, Bb and D; F is F, A and C; Eb is Eb, G and Bb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
D7V7GmiFVIIEbVI- D7D · F# · A · C
- GmG · Bb · D
- FF · A · C
- EbEb · G · Bb
- 2
Left hand: Walking roots
One low note on every beat, steady as walking feet. Musicians call it root bass · quarters (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Snowfall
Three notes from the top keep falling, soft and steady like snow. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 160 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: Eb – F – Gm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbFGm
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Questions about In The Heights
What chords are in In The Heights?
The loop is D7 – Gm – F – Eb (V7 – i – bVII – bVI) in G minor, and the song ends on Eb – F – Gm.
What key is In The Heights in?
G minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in In The Heights?
Walking roots: root bass · quarters, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is In The Heights 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.