Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Vox on piano

By Sarah McLachlan

Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Style

Left hand Island pulseRight hand Lighthouse blinkChords the loop the song repeats most

Learn Vox in 5 steps

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

  1. 1

    Chords: C – F – Am – G

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

    CIFIVAmviGV
    • CC · E · G
    • FF · A · C
    • AmA · C · E
    • GG · B · D
    67 songs go round the same chords
  2. 2

    Left hand: Island pulse

    Three, three, two: the island rhythm in so many pop hits. Musicians call it root bass · tresillo 3-3-2 (root bass rhythm), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Lighthouse blink

    A note and the one above flash in turn, steady as a lighthouse. 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: Am – G – C

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

    AmGC

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Questions about Vox

What chords are in Vox?

The loop is C – F – Am – G (I – IV – vi – V) in C major, and the song ends on Am – G – C.

What key is Vox in?

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

What does the left hand play in Vox?

Island pulse: root bass · tresillo 3-3-2, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Vox 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 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.