Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Prototype on piano
By Jeff Lorber
- F major
- 2/2
- 150 BPM
- 2017
- Medium
Learn Prototype in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: F – Ab – F – Ab
Prototype sits in F major: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: F is F, A and C; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
FIAbbIIIFIAbbIII- FF · A · C
- AbAb · C · Eb
- 2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Push chords
Two quick chords and a push just before beat 3, then space. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 150 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: Bb – C – F
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCF- BbBb · D · F
- CC · E · G
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Questions about Prototype
What chords are in Prototype?
The loop is F – Ab – F – Ab (I – bIII – I – bIII) in F major, and the song ends on Bb – C – F.
What key is Prototype in?
F major, at about 150 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Prototype?
Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Prototype 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.