Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Starships on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Starships in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: A – E – D – F#m
Starships sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; E is E, G# and B; D is D, F# and A; F#m is F#, A and C#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AIEVDIVF#mvi
- AA · C# · E
- EE · G# · B
- DD · F# · A
- F#mF# · A · C#
17 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Galloping heartbeat
Ta-DUM, ta-DUM: quick pickups into beats 2 and 4, like hooves. Musicians call it root bass · 1 · 1a · 2 · 3 · 3a · 4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 115 songs of the library.
Galloping heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Dance-floor chords
Off-centre chords keep landing between the beats: a dance-floor groove. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Dance-floor chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 126 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: D – E – A
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DEA

What chords are in Starships?

The loop is A – E – D – F#m (I – V – IV – vi) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Starships in?

A major, at about 126 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Starships?

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

Is Starships 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.