Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Not Fade Away on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Not Fade Away in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab
Not Fade Away sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EbIAbIVEbIAbIV
- EbEb · G · Bb
- AbAb · C · Eb
782 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Power fifths
Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Power fifthsLeft-hand chords · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Knock-knock chords
Chord, a quick knock-knock, a pause, then one last chord. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Knock-knock chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 160 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: Eb – Ab – Eb
The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbAbEb

What chords are in Not Fade Away?

The loop is Eb – Ab – Eb – Ab (I – IV – I – IV) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ab – Eb.

What key is Not Fade Away in?

Eb major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Not Fade Away?

Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Not Fade Away 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.