Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Wake Up on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Wake Up in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: Db – Bbm – Gb – Db
Wake Up sits in Db major: Db is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Db is Db, F and Ab; Bbm is Bb, Db and F; Gb is Gb, Bb and Db. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DbIBbmviGbIVDbI
- DbDb · F · Ab
- BbmBb · Db · F
- GbGb · Bb · Db
121 songs go round the same chords
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.
Engine 8thsRoot bass rhythm · RockLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Late-hop chords
Steady chords with one quick extra hop after beat 3. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Late-hop chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 94 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: Gb – Ab – Db
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GbAbDb
- AbAb · C · Eb

What chords are in Wake Up?

The loop is Db – Bbm – Gb – Db (I – vi – IV – I) in Db major, and the song ends on Gb – Ab – Db.

What key is Wake Up in?

Db major, at about 94 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Wake Up?

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

Is Wake 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.