Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Trouble on piano

By Dave Matthews

  • A major
  • 4/4
  • 100 BPM
  • 2003
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Engine 8thsRight hand Doorbell twinkleChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Trouble in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: A – D – Asus4 – A

    Trouble sits in A major: A is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: A is A, C# and E; D is D, F# and A; Asus4 is A, D and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    AIDIVAsus4Isus4AI
    • AA · C# · E
    • DD · F# · A
    • Asus4A · D · E
  2. 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. 3

    Right hand: Doorbell twinkle

    A chord rings, then two middle notes twinkle in quick turns. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 100 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. 5

    Ending: D – E – A

    The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    DEA
    • EE · G# · B

Play next

Questions about Trouble

What chords are in Trouble?

The loop is A – D – Asus4 – A (I – IV – Isus – I) in A major, and the song ends on D – E – A.

What key is Trouble in?

A major, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Trouble?

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

Is Trouble 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.