Piano chords · Rock drive

How to play Without You on piano

By David Guetta featuring Usher

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn Without You in 5 steps

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

1
Chords: D – D – Gsus4 – Gsus4
Without You sits in D major: D is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: D is D, F# and A; Gsus4 is G, C and D. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
DIDIGsus4IVsus4Gsus4IVsus4
- DD · F# · A
- Gsus4G · C · D
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: Falling stars
Three high notes fall over and over, like stars dropping from the sky. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Falling starsFalling arpeggio · Film scoreRight handMedium
4
Both hands at 130 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: G – A – D
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
GAD
- GG · B · D
- AA · C# · E

What chords are in Without You?

The loop is D – D – Gsus4 – Gsus4 (I – IVsus4 – I – IVsus4) in D major, and the song ends on G – A – D.

What key is Without You in?

D major, at about 130 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Without You?

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

Is Without You 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.

Can I hear the real melody of Without You?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.

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