{"id":7098,"date":"2022-03-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=7098"},"modified":"2022-11-08T13:26:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T21:26:55","slug":"gravity-piano-tutorial-sara-bareilles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/gravity-piano-tutorial-sara-bareilles\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Gravity&#8221; Piano Tutorial (Sara Bareilles)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cGravity\u201d by Sara Bareilles is a lovely piano ballad. You get to feel all your feelings with this song! But we\u2019ll be honest\u2014this isn&#8217;t an easy piece. That being said, once you get the chords down, you can play this as simply or as ornamentally as you wish!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want the notated lead sheet? Consider joining Pianote as a member and access our song library of tutorials and sheet music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<center><a class=\"join\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRY PIANOTE 7 DAYS FOR FREE<\/a><\/center>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To master this song, we recommend getting super familiar with the original recording. Listen to it a few times. Then, interpret the vocal part YOUR way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as long as you stay in time and keep to four beats per measure, you&#8217;ll do well \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to Play &#8220;Gravity&#8221; on Piano<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Intro<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve notated a few key riffs and the vocal melody in the lead sheet. A <strong>lead sheet<\/strong> is a score with the melody notated and chord symbols written above when the chords change. Lead sheets are an excellent introduction to reading sheet music. And they leave plenty of room for creating your own accompaniment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<center><div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/109686394\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:68.35017% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/109686394?et=oN2W2STFQpV68o8cSEPZiQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=p3OnkqHMPquvMT1y2bVoGNZEqMDGytUGr5bwlVcArE4=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"406\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/center>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The first chords you\u2019ll encounter in this song are C\/E and Fmaj7. C\/E is a <strong>slash chord.<\/strong> To play a slash chord, play the chord to the left of the slash (C) with your right hand and play the note to the right of the slash (E) with your left hand. You can learn more about slash chords <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/slash-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fmaj7 is a <strong>major seventh chord<\/strong>. It\u2019s created by stacking a seventh on top of the F major triad \u2014 so F-A-C turns into F-A-C-E. You can learn more about seventh chords <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/minor-and-major-seventh-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>. In the lead sheet, we\u2019ve notated the top three notes of the Fmaj7 chord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Core Progression<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the song is built on a <strong>2-5-1 progression<\/strong>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/jazz-piano-chord-progression\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2-5-1<\/a> is your typical jazz progression. It is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">progression of chords<\/a> built on the second, fifth, and first note of the scale. Since we\u2019re in C Major, we\u2019ll be using the chords Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, if we play these chords all in their root position, we\u2019ll be leaping big distances all over the keyboard! A more efficient way to change chords is to use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-inversions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inversions<\/a>. The inversions we used in the video are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color\" style=\"color:#f61a30;font-size:30px\">Dm7 &#8211; 2nd inversion<br>G7 &#8211; root position<br>Cmaj7 &#8211; 2nd inversion<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With your right hand, practice moving between these chords until it\u2019s familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gravity%20Tutorial\/gravity%20chorus%20progression%20-%20min.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019ve gotten familiar with these chords, you may want to add riffs and fills to fluff out the chords. Start by borrowing notes directly from the chords you\u2019re already playing. If you really want to master riffing between chords, check out our riffs and fills course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h3>\ud83c\udfb9 Play REAL Songs&#8230;The Ones You Love \ud83c\udfb5<\/h3><\/center><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Featured%20Box%20images\/lisa-i%20love%20music.jpg\"><p>The best way to learn music is by playing, not reading. Start off on a good note with our 500 Songs in 5 Days course pack. Free with your Pianote membership. <\/p><br><center><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/500-songs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">START PLAYING SONGS TODAY<\/a><\/center><p><\/p><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Chorus<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chorus, the progression changes slightly and there are a few new chords. You\u2019ll notice that we\u2019ll recycle quite a few chords but change their bass note to slightly alter the sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To smoothly transition between chords, consider using inversions. For example, I use inversions to move through the C &#8211; G\/B &#8211; Am progression. The hardest part is playing these chords in time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<center><div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1180350579\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:63.636364% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1180350579?et=bpieHROKSDxwk0aMg5ZlJQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=RaH698aUmaPHNQcxievpgf_hkpyzuIVZK1GyU1cdfEs=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"378\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/center>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll notice that we have a new chord: Bbsus. Bbsus is a <strong>suspended chord<\/strong> \u2014 that\u2019s when the third of a chord is switched out for the second or fourth note of the scale. You can learn more about sus chords <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/sus-piano-chords-101\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you want to learn more about using chord inversions to play more efficiently, check out our lesson on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/chord-shortcuts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chord shortcuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bridge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>As promised, we get lots of sus chords in the bridge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll see that we play a number of Csus chords with our right hand while our left hand pushes through a series of bass notes. Either Csus2 <em>or<\/em> Csus4 will work here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We then go into a beautiful little riff. Then, we return to the 2-5-1 progression, which ends the song.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1142096875\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.66667% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1142096875?et=dQ0GffkfQdxFk8oGhNcPWQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=mR2EW4Sl2Yysxv5jb4vDXg0eApq7DP23siqxiEOgTP8=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to Play &#8220;Gravity&#8221; on Piano<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve made it this far, congratulations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re struggling, that&#8217;s okay. As we&#8217;ve mentioned, this song isn&#8217;t easy. But the rewards are great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are tons of different chords here. If you want to get deeper into chords, check out these free lessons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/all-piano-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Play ALL Piano Chords<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/complicated-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read and Play Complicated Chords on the Piano<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/chord-hacks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chord Hacks<\/a>, our free six-part course on everything to do with piano chords. Happy practicing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn to play &#8220;Gravity&#8221; by Sara Bareilles on the piano. Includes free lead sheet with chords and melody and video tutorial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[508],"tags":[1086],"class_list":["post-7098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-song-tutorials","tag-l3s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7098"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7118,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7098\/revisions\/7118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}