Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Morningside on piano

By Sara Bareilles

  • Eb major
  • 4/4
  • 120 BPM
  • 2007
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Island pulseRight hand Pumping chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Morningside in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: Cm – Eb – F7 – Cm

    Morningside sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Cm is C, Eb and G; Eb is Eb, G and Bb; F7 is F, A, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    CmviEbIF7II7Cmvi
    • CmC · Eb · G
    • EbEb · G · Bb
    • F7F · A · C · Eb
  2. 2

    Left hand: Island pulse

    Three, three, two: the island rhythm in so many pop hits. Musicians call it root bass · tresillo 3-3-2 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Pumping chords

    A chord on every eighth note, driving the song forward. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 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. 5

    Ending: Ab – Bb – Eb

    The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    AbBbEb
    • AbAb · C · Eb
    • BbBb · D · F

Play next

Questions about Morningside

What chords are in Morningside?

The loop is Cm – Eb – F7 – Cm (vi – I – II7 – vi) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.

What key is Morningside in?

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

What does the left hand play in Morningside?

Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Morningside 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.