Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Talk About It on piano
Written by Nicole C. Mullen & Brooke Dozier
- E minor
- 4/4
- 120 BPM
- i–bVII–i–bVII loop
- 2001
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn Talk About It in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Em – D – Em – D
How it goes
Talk About It sits in E minor: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Em is E, G and B; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EmiDVIIEmiDVII- EmE · G · B
- DD · F# · A
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
How it goes
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Gear-shift chords
How it goes
Quick even chords that skip beat 3, like an engine changing gear. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 120 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: C – D – Em
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
CDEm- CC · E · G
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Questions about Talk About It
What chords are in Talk About It?
The loop is Em – D – Em – D (i – bVII – i – bVII) in E minor, and the song ends on C – D – Em.
What key is Talk About It in?
E minor, at about 120 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Talk About It?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Talk About It 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.