Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Runaway Baby on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Runaway Baby in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Em – A7 – Em – A7
How it goes
Runaway Baby sits in E minor: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Em is E, G and B; A7 is A, C#, E and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EmiA7IV7EmiA7IV7
- EmE · G · B
- A7A · C# · E · G
21 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
How it goes
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.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Late-hop chords
How it goes
Steady chords with one quick extra hop after beat 3. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Late-hop chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 160 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: C – D – Em
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDEm
- CC · E · G
- DD · F# · A

What chords are in Runaway Baby?

The loop is Em – A7 – Em – A7 (i – IV7 – i – IV7) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.

What key is Runaway Baby in?

E minor, at about 160 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Runaway Baby?

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

Is Runaway Baby 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.