Piano chords · Pop heartbeat
How to play Ultraviolence on piano
Written by Elizabeth Grant & Daniel Heath
- D minor
- 4/4
- 112 BPM
- 2014
- Medium
Learn Ultraviolence in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Dm – F – C – G
Ultraviolence sits in D minor: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Dm is D, F and A; F is F, A and C; C is C, E and G; G is G, B and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DmiFIIICVIIGIV- DmD · F · A
- FF · A · C
- CC · E · G
- GG · B · D
- 2
Left hand: Pop heartbeat
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) (root bass rhythm), 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 112 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: Bb – C – Dm
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
BbCDm- BbBb · D · F
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Questions about Ultraviolence
What chords are in Ultraviolence?
The loop is Dm – F – C – G (i – bIII – bVII – IV) in D minor, and the song ends on Bb – C – Dm.
What key is Ultraviolence in?
D minor, at about 112 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in Ultraviolence?
Pop heartbeat: root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3), an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is Ultraviolence 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.