If you’re new at learning how to play piano, “Faded” by Alan Walker is a good piece to learn first.
More advanced piano players will benefit from practicing this song too. That’s because while “Faded” is a simple song, with just four chords and a basic main theme, there is generous space here to add your own riffs and fills, improvise, and make your own, unique arrangement for this song.
Download the lead sheet first, then follow along with our tutorial!
You can learn to play this beautiful song, including that intro riff, in just a few minutes. How is it so easy?
If you’ve spent any time on this blog or on our YouTube channel, you’ve probably heard me say that knowing as few as four chords can unlock hundreds of songs.
Playing “Faded” on the piano just involves four chords, and they come in a specific order that NEVER changes. Literally the entire song is the same four chords played in the same order:
Spend some time getting familiar with these four chords. Once you do, congratulate yourself, because you’ve just learned to play “Faded”!
And that’s the end of this tutorial.
Okay, okay, I was being cheeky. Of course, there is more to this song than playing four bland chords in root position. After all, that intro riff is what makes this song:
These notes are pretty simple, but if you need help with fingering, here’s a lesson that can help.
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You can play a basic version of this song very quickly. And it’ll sound good.
But if you want to level up from basic chords, you have tons of options. Here are some ideas.
Harmonizing the melody is easy. Just add a note a third beneath the main theme. Like this:
How does this work? Our ears gravitate towards the top note when we harmonize like this, so we still hear the melody. And you’ll notice that the notes we add for the most part come from the chord.
We go over harmonizing melodies in more detail here.
Since the foundation of this song is so straightforward, “Faded” is an awesome opportunity to practice your chord inversions.
Try using alternative inversions. Playing chords in different positions can also make it easier to transition between chords (check out our lesson on chord shortcuts to see how this works)
One simple way to spice things up is to play the main theme’s melody beneath the chorus. Try this out!
You understand that scales and chords are important, but at the end of the day, you want to play SONGS! And you should 🙂 Start off on a good note with our 500 Songs in 5 Days course pack. Free with your Pianote membership.
You can quickly add more oomph to your arrangement by breaking up the chords in your left hand. You can also roll into chords from the neighboring notes.
If you’d like the full lowdown on making things fancy, we go over all this in detail in our Riffs & Fills course.
This is a soulful, moody song, so don’t forget to add expression by using dynamics!
And that’s about it! This song can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. It’s perfect for beginners who want to start playing real songs quickly, and it’s also fantastic as a way to explore harmony, inversions, and improvisation.
I hope you enjoy this “Faded” piano tutorial and remember: have fun!
Lisa Witt has been teaching piano for more than 20 years and in that time has helped hundreds of students learn to play the songs they love. Lisa received classical piano training through the Royal Conservatory of Music, but she has since embraced popular music and playing by ear in order to accompany herself and others. Learn more about Lisa.
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