Wasted Time Piano Chords & Patterns

Learn Wasted Time in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: C – G – D – C
Wasted Time sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: C is C, E and G; G is G, B and D; D is D, F# and A. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CIVGIDVCIV
- CC · E · G
- GG · B · D
- DD · F# · A
87 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Heartbeat octaves
Low, high, low, high: a bouncing heartbeat. Musicians call it rocking octaves (rocking octaves), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
Heartbeat octavesRocking octaves · RockLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Sparkler
One note fizzes in quick little bursts, then wiggles at the end. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
SparklerBroken-chord figure · Film scoreRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 95 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: D – C – G
The last chords are V – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
DCG

What chords are in Wasted Time?

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

What key is Wasted Time in?

G major, at about 95 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Wasted Time?

Heartbeat octaves: rocking octaves, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Wasted Time 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.