Olivia Rodrigo "Vampire" Piano Tutorial

“vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo is the latest pop-punk piano hit by the rising young star. What I love about this song is how dramatically it changes. We go from sweet and warm to intense and aggressive in a matter of seconds! You don’t normally get to hear such contrasting sounds in a piano ballad, but Olivia has done it!

Note for parents: in our video, we teach the song using clean lyrics, but I’ll be performing the song with its original words at the end of the video.

Table of Contents:

Tutorial

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Olivia Rodrigo “vampire” Piano Sheet Music

Pianote+ Members can download the full sheet music transcription of “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo in the Songs section of our Members Area.

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“vampire” Chords

This song is built on just a handful of chords: F, A, Asus4, B♭, B♭m, Gm, C, Csus4. Here are diagrams of all the chords in root position:

Keyboard diagram with keys FAC highlighted in red and labelled.

Asus4

Keyboard diagram with keys A-D-E highlighted in red and labelled

B♭m

Keyboard diagram with keys Bb-Db-F highlighted in red and labelled

Keyboard diagram with keys C-E-G highlighted in red and labelled.

Keyboard diagram with keys A-C#-E highlighted in red and labelled.

B♭

Keyboard diagram with keys Bb-D-F highlighted in red and labelled.

Keyboard diagram with keys G-Bb-D highlighted in red and labelled

Csus4

Keyboard diagram with keys C-F-G highlighted in red and labelled.

“vampire” is written in F major. So, if you want to improvise your own riffs and fills, remember to flat your Bs.

I wrote [“vampire”] on the piano, the original version, in December of last year, and I really liked it. I remember writing it and feeling like something special was there. And I took it to my producer Dan, and we finished it up together and rewrote some things and produced it. It was quite a long production — it’s pretty lush, so it took us a while. But I’m really happy with the way it came out.
Olivia Rodrigo (Source: Billboard)

Embed from Getty Images

Piano Playing Tips

Counting: The left-hand part can look confusing in the sheet music. To simplify things, think of your left hand as playing on the “and” of beats and you’ll have the basic idea down.
Fingering: There are a number of chord walk-ups in this song that require a re-adjustment of fingers. So, give yourself time to prepare for adjustments and look ahead! And use fingering that makes sense to you.
Easy version: If different chord shapes and inversions are new to you, you can still play this song using the root positions of the chords listed above the sheet music!
Have fun with contrasts: This song is chock full of moody fun. Experiment with dynamics, tempo, and solid and broken chords to suit the mood!

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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.