Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Life Support on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Life Support in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: G – Am – Em – C
Life Support sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; Am is A, C and E; Em is E, G and B; C is C, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GIAmiiEmviCIV
- GG · B · D
- AmA · C · E
- EmE · G · B
- CC · E · G
30 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Double island pulse
The island rhythm squeezed in twice per bar: quick and dancy. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1a · 2& · 3 · 3a · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 122 songs of the library.
Double island pulseRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Steady chords
A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Steady chordsBlock chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 60 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: C – D – G
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDG
- DD · F# · A

What chords are in Life Support?

The loop is G – Am – Em – C (I – ii – vi – IV) in G major, and the song ends on C – D – G.

What key is Life Support in?

G major, at about 60 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Life Support?

Double island pulse: root bass · 1 · 1a · 2& · 3 · 3a · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Life Support 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.