Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Starlight Express on piano

Tuning the piano…

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Learn Starlight Express in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Eb – Fm – Bb – Ebmaj7 – Ab – Eb
Starlight Express sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 6 chords: Eb is Eb, G and Bb; Fm is F, Ab and C; Bb is Bb, D and F; Ebmaj7 is Eb, G, Bb and D; Ab is Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EbIFmiiBbVEbmaj7Imaj7AbIVEbI
- EbEb · G · Bb
- FmF · Ab · C
- BbBb · D · F
- Ebmaj7Eb · G · Bb · D
- AbAb · C · Eb
75 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Excited heartbeat
Lots of quick notes with a tiny skip before beat 3: full of energy. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1& · 2 · 2a · 3 · 3& · 4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 81 songs of the library.
Excited heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Sprint-and-stop chords
Four quick chords in the first half, then a calm, empty second half. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Sprint-and-stop chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 90 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: Eb – Ab – Eb
The last chords are I – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbAbEb

What chords are in Starlight Express?

The loop is Eb – Fm – Bb – Ebmaj7 – Ab – Eb (I – ii – V – Imaj7 – IV – I) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Ab – Eb.

What key is Starlight Express in?

Eb major, at about 90 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Starlight Express?

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

Is Starlight Express 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 Starlight Express?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.