Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play Wish You Were Here on piano

By Brian Tyler

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Wish You Were Here in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: E – B – C#m – Asus4
Wish You Were Here sits in E major: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: E is E, G# and B; B is B, D# and F#; C#m is C#, E and G#; Asus4 is A, D and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
EIBVC#mviAsus4IVsus4
- EE · G# · B
- BB · D# · F#
- C#mC# · E · G#
- Asus4A · D · E
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.
Pop heartbeatRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handEasy
3
Right hand: Firefly blink
The top note and the one below blink back and forth like a firefly. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Firefly blinkTwo-note ostinato · Film scoreRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 84 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: A – B – E
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
ABE
- AA · C# · E

What chords are in Wish You Were Here?

The loop is E – B – C#m – Asus4 (I – V – vi – IVsus) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is Wish You Were Here in?

E major, at about 84 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Wish You Were Here?

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 Wish You Were Here 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.