How to play Shadow People on piano

Learn Shadow People in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Am – G – F – Am
Shadow People sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; G is G, B and D; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmviGVFIVAmvi
- AmA · C · E
- GG · B · D
- FF · A · C
27 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Double-skip footsteps
Steady steps with two quick skips, one mid-bar and one at the end. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4& (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 397 songs of the library.
Double-skip footstepsRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Jump-in chords
Jumps in just after beat 1, pumps through, and stops before the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Jump-in chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 100 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: F – G – C
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGC
- CC · E · G

What chords are in Shadow People?

The loop is Am – G – F – Am (vi – V – IV – vi) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is Shadow People in?

C major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Shadow People?

Double-skip footsteps: root bass · 1 · 2 · 2& · 3 · 4 · 4&, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Shadow People 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.