Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play The First Time on piano
By Vance Joy
- F minor
- 4/4
- 80 BPM
- 2014
- Medium
Learn The First Time in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Db – C – Bb – Eb
The First Time sits in F minor: F is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Db is Db, F and Ab; C is C, E and G; Bb is Bb, D and F; Eb is Eb, G and Bb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DbVICVBbIVEbVII- DbDb · F · Ab
- CC · E · G
- BbBb · D · F
- EbEb · G · Bb
- 2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
The lowest note on every eighth: the engine of rock. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Cuckoo clock
High, high, a little lower, twice per bar: cuckoo, cuckoo. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 80 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 – Fm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DbEbFm- FmF · Ab · C
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Questions about The First Time
What chords are in The First Time?
The loop is Db – C – Bb – Eb (bVI5 – V5 – IV5 – bVII) in F minor, and the song ends on Db – Eb – Fm.
What key is The First Time in?
F minor, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in The First Time?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The First Time 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.