Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Killing Time on piano
Written by Duncan Sheik
- C# minor
- 4/4
- 144 BPM
- 2016
- Medium
Learn Killing Time in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: B – D – F#m – A
Killing Time sits in C# minor: C# is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: B is B, D# and F#; D is D, F# and A; F#m is F#, A and C#; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BVIIDbIIF#mivAVI- BB · D# · F#
- DD · F# · A
- F#mF# · A · C#
- AA · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Groovy roots
Notes jump around the “ands”, giving the bass a funky bounce. Musicians call it root bass · syncopated 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 363 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Push-and-land chords
A push just before beat 3, then two calm landings. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 144 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: A – B – C#m
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
ABC#m- C#mC# · E · G#
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Questions about Killing Time
What chords are in Killing Time?
The loop is B – D – F#m – A (bVII – bII – iv – bVI) in C# minor, and the song ends on A – B – C#m.
What key is Killing Time in?
C# minor, at about 144 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Killing Time?
Groovy roots: root bass · syncopated 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Killing Time 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.