Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play Stay on piano
By Jeremy Camp
- E minor
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- 2002
- Medium
Learn Stay in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: E – Csus4 – G – D
Stay sits in E minor: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: E is E, G# and B; Csus4 is C, F and G; G is G, B and D; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EICsus4VIsus4GIIIDVII- EE · G# · B
- Csus4C · F · G
- GG · B · D
- DD · F# · A
- 2
Left hand: Power fifths
Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of 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 100 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: C – D – Em
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDEm- CC · E · G
- EmE · G · B
Play next
Questions about Stay
What chords are in Stay?
The loop is E – Csus4 – G – D (I5 – bVIsus – bIII5 – bVII5) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.
What key is Stay in?
E minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Stay?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Stay 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.