Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Room At The Top on piano

Written by Tom Petty

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Steady chordsChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Room At The Top in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: C – F – C – F

    Room At The Top sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    CIFIVCIFIV
    • CC · E · G
    • FF · A · C
    782 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Engine 8ths

    The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Steady chords

    A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 84 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: C – F – C

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

    CFC

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Questions about Room At The Top

What chords are in Room At The Top?

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

What key is Room At The Top in?

C major, at about 84 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Room At The Top?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Room At The Top 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.