Keep On Running Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn Keep On Running in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Ab7 – Db7 – Ab7 – Db7
Keep On Running sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab7 is Ab, C, Eb and Gb; Db7 is Db, F, Ab and Cb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
Ab7I7Db7IV7Ab7I7Db7IV7
- Ab7Ab · C · Eb · Gb
- Db7Db · F · Ab · Cb
43 songs go round the same chords
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.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Ticking clock
One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Ticking clockRepeated-note pulse · RockRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 120 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: Db – Eb – Ab
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbAb
- DbDb · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb
- AbAb · C · Eb

What chords are in Keep On Running?

The loop is Ab7 – Db7 – Ab7 – Db7 (I7 – IV7 – I7 – IV7) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.

What key is Keep On Running in?

Ab major, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Keep On Running?

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

Is Keep On Running 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.