Piano chords · Old-time stride
How to play Time After Time on piano
By Cyndi Lauper
- C major
- 4/4
- 130 BPM
- 1983
- Medium
Learn Time After Time in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: C – G – Am – F – G
Time After Time sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 5 chords: C is C, E and G; G is G, B and D; Am is A, C and E; F is F, A and C. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIGVAmviFIVGV- CC · E · G
- GG · B · D
- AmA · C · E
- FF · A · C
- 2
Left hand: Oom-pah
A bass note, then three soft chords: oom, pah, pah, pah. Musicians call it bass + chords (stride & boom-chick), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Running-late chords
Misses beat 1, then hurries in with busy chords around the beats. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 130 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 – C
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
FGC
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Questions about Time After Time
What chords are in Time After Time?
The loop is C – G – Am – F – G (I – V – vi – IV – V) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.
What key is Time After Time in?
C major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Time After Time?
Oom-pah: bass + chords, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Time After Time easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 5 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of Time After Time?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the repeating figure of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 5 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.