Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play We Didn’t Start The Fire on piano
Artist unknown
- G major
- 4/4
- 144 BPM
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn We Didn’t Start The Fire in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: G – Dsus4 – Em – Csus4
How it goes
We Didn’t Start The Fire sits in G major: G is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G is G, B and D; Dsus4 is D, G and A; Em is E, G and B; Csus4 is C, F and G. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
GIDsus4Vsus4EmviCsus4IVsus4- GG · B · D
- Dsus4D · G · A
- EmE · G · B
- Csus4C · F · G
- 2
Left hand: Engine 8ths
How it goes
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
Right hand: Hopscotch chords
How it goes
Chord, chord, skip beat 3, chord: hopping over a square. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 144 BPM
How it goes
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: Em – C – G
How it goes
The last chords are vi – IV – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EmCG- CC · E · G
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Questions about We Didn’t Start The Fire
What chords are in We Didn’t Start The Fire?
The loop is G – Dsus4 – Em – Csus4 (I5 – Vsus – vi – IVsus) in G major, and the song ends on Em – C – G.
What key is We Didn’t Start The Fire in?
G major, at about 144 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in We Didn’t Start The Fire?
Engine 8ths: root bass · 8ths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is We Didn’t Start The Fire 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.