Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play Three Flights Up on piano
Written by Don McLean
- G major
- 2/2
- 160 BPM
- 1970
- Medium
Learn Three Flights Up in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: C – G – C – G7
Three Flights Up sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; G is G, B and D; G7 is G, B, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIVGICIVG7I7- CC · E · G
- GG · B · D
- G7G · B · D · F
- 2
Left hand: Heartbeat octaves
Low, high, low, high: a bouncing heartbeat. Musicians call it rocking octaves (rocking octaves), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Ticking clock
One high note repeated on every quick beat: tick, tick, tick. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 160 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: Am – D7 – G
The last chords are ii – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AmD7G- AmA · C · E
- D7D · F# · A · C
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Questions about Three Flights Up
What chords are in Three Flights Up?
The loop is C – G – C – G7 (IV – I – IV – I7) in G major, and the song ends on Am – D7 – G.
What key is Three Flights Up in?
G major, at about 160 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in Three Flights Up?
Heartbeat octaves: rocking octaves, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Three Flights Up 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.