Piano chords · Lullaby boat
How to play Stairway To Heaven on piano
By Led Zeppelin
- A minor
- 6/8
- 128 BPM
- 1972
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Stairway To Heaven in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Am – D7 – F#m7 – D7 – F#m7 – Am
How it goes
Stairway To Heaven sits in A minor: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 6 chords: Am is A, C and E; D7 is D, F#, A and C; F#m7 is F#, A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmiD7IV7F#m7vi7D7IV7F#m7vi7Ami- AmA · C · E
- D7D · F# · A · C
- F#m7F# · A · C# · E
- 2
Left hand: Little rainbow
How it goes
Six notes up the chord and back down: an arch in one rocking bar. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-8-5-3 (6/8) (broken chord), a medium pattern heard in 35 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Hammock chords
How it goes
Long-short, long-short: soft chords sway like a hammock. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 128 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: F – G – Am
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGAm- FF · A · C
- GG · B · D
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Questions about Stairway To Heaven
What chords are in Stairway To Heaven?
The loop is Am – D7 – F#m7 – D7 – F#m7 – Am (i – IV7 – vi7 – IV7 – vi7 – i) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.
What key is Stairway To Heaven in?
A minor, at about 128 beats a minute in 6/8.
What does the left hand play in Stairway To Heaven?
Little rainbow: broken chord 1-3-5-8-5-3 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Stairway To Heaven easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 6 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Stairway To Heaven?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.