Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play The Hands That Built America on piano

Written by U2

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn The Hands That Built America in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Am – G – F – Am
The Hands That Built America sits in A minor: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; G is G, B and D; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
AmiGVIIFVIAmi
- AmA · C · E
- GG · B · D
- FF · A · C
25 songs go round the same chords
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.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Push chords
Two quick chords and a push just before beat 3, then space. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Push chordsSyncopated chords · RockRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 82 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: F – G – Am
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGAm

What chords are in The Hands That Built America?

The loop is Am – G – F – Am (i – bVII – bVI – i) in A minor, and the song ends on F – G – Am.

What key is The Hands That Built America in?

A minor, at about 82 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in The Hands That Built America?

Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Hands That Built America 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.