Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Kings Highway on piano
By Tom Petty
- Bb major
- 4/4
- 128 BPM
- 1991
- Medium
Learn Kings Highway in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F – Bb – F – Bb
Kings Highway sits in Bb major: Bb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; Bb is Bb, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FVBbIFVBbI- FF · A · C
- BbBb · D · F
- 2
Left hand: Double-skip footsteps
Steady steps with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 397 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Double-skip chords
Steady chords with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 128 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: Bb – F – Bb
The last chords are I – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbFBb
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Questions about Kings Highway
What chords are in Kings Highway?
The loop is F – Bb – F – Bb (V – I5 – V – I5) in Bb major, and the song ends on Bb – F – Bb.
What key is Kings Highway in?
Bb major, at about 128 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Kings Highway?
Double-skip footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Kings Highway 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.