Piano chords · Lullaby boat
How to play Starlight on piano
By Gail Smith
- Ab major
- 6/8
- 160 BPM
- 2013
- Medium
Learn Starlight in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Ab – Ab – Eb7 – Ab – Ab – Eb7
Starlight sits in Ab major: Ab is home, where the song ends. It goes round 6 chords: Ab is Ab, C and Eb; Eb7 is Eb, G, Bb and Db. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AbIAbIEb7V7AbIAbIEb7V7- AbAb · C · Eb
- Eb7Eb · G · Bb · Db
- 2
Left hand: Hammock rocking
Low, high, top, high in a long-short sway, like a swinging hammock. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5-8-5 (6/8) (broken chord), a medium pattern heard in 34 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: the chords, held
In this song the right hand mostly plays the tune itself. Hold the chords lightly, or play the melody over the left hand.
- 4
Both hands at 160 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: Db – Eb – Ab
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbAb- DbDb · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb
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Questions about Starlight
What chords are in Starlight?
The loop is Ab – Ab – Eb7 – Ab – Ab – Eb7 (I – V7 – I – V7 – I – V7) in Ab major, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Ab.
What key is Starlight in?
Ab major, at about 160 beats a minute in 6/8.
What does the left hand play in Starlight?
Hammock rocking: broken chord 1-5-8-5 (6/8), a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Starlight 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?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the bass riff of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.