Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Recovering the Satellites on piano
Written by Adam Frederic Duritz, David Lynn Bryson & others
- Ab major
- 4/4
- 84 BPM
- I–IV–I–IV loop
- 1996
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Recovering the Satellites in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Db – Ab – Db
How it goes
Recovering the Satellites sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Db is Db, F and Ab. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIDbIVAbIDbIV- AbAb · C · Eb
- DbDb · F · Ab
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Ticking clock
How it goes
One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 84 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: Gb – Db – Ab
How it goes
The last chords are bVII – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GbDbAb- GbGb · Bb · Db
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Questions about Recovering the Satellites
What chords are in Recovering the Satellites?
The loop is Ab – Db – Ab – Db (I – IV – I – IV) in Ab major, and the song ends on Gb – Db – Ab.
What key is Recovering the Satellites in?
Ab major, at about 84 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Recovering the Satellites?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Recovering the Satellites 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.