Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Somebody on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Somebody in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: G – C – Em – C
How it goes
Somebody sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; C is C, E and G; Em is E, G and B. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GICIVEmviCIV
- GG · B · D
- CC · E · G
- EmE · G · B
18 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Fluttering heartbeat
How it goes
A quick flutter before beat 2, then a push before beat 3. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1a · 2 · 2& · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 152 songs of the library.
Fluttering heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Rising light
How it goes
Three notes climb again and again, starting just after the beat. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Rising lightRising arpeggio · BalladRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 82 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: Em – C – G
How it goes
The last chords are vi – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EmCG

What chords are in Somebody?

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

What key is Somebody in?

G major, at about 82 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Somebody?

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

Is Somebody 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.