Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play One Day I’ll Fly Away on piano
Written by Will Jennings & Joe Sample
- B major
- 4/4
- 90 BPM
- 1980
- Medium
Learn One Day I’ll Fly Away in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: B – Em – B – C#m
One Day I’ll Fly Away sits in B major: B is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: B is B, D# and F#; Em is E, G and B; C#m is C#, E and G#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BIEmivBIC#mii- BB · D# · F#
- EmE · G · B
- C#mC# · E · G#
- 2
Left hand: Gentle rocking
Root, fifth, octave, fifth: the gentle rocking under countless pop ballads. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5-8-5 (broken chord), an easy pattern heard in 696 songs of the library.
- 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
Both hands at 90 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: B – Em – B
The last chords are I – iv – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BEmB
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Questions about One Day I’ll Fly Away
What chords are in One Day I’ll Fly Away?
The loop is B – Em – B – C#m (I – iv – I – ii) in B major, and the song ends on B – Em – B.
What key is One Day I’ll Fly Away in?
B major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in One Day I’ll Fly Away?
Gentle rocking: broken chord 1-5-8-5, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is One Day I’ll Fly 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.