Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Malibu on piano
Written by Miley Cyrus & Oren Yoel
- Ab major
- 4/4
- 138 BPM
- I–Isus–I–Isus loop
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Malibu in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Absus4 – Ab – Absus4
How it goes
Malibu sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Absus4 is Ab, Db and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIAbsus4Isus4AbIAbsus4Isus4- AbAb · C · Eb
- Absus4Ab · Db · Eb
- 2
Left hand: Hopscotch steps
How it goes
Step, step, skip a beat, step: like hopping over a square. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 4 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in 668 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Sunrise
How it goes
Three notes keep climbing in quick loops, bright like the morning sun. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 138 BPM
How it goes
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: Ab – Absus4 – Ab
How it goes
The last chords are I – Isus – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbAbsus4Ab
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Questions about Malibu
What chords are in Malibu?
The loop is Ab – Absus4 – Ab – Absus4 (I – Isus – I – Isus) in Ab major, and the song ends on Ab – Absus4 – Ab.
What key is Malibu in?
Ab major, at about 138 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Malibu?
Hopscotch steps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 4, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Malibu 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.