{"id":71,"date":"2018-01-05T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T22:10:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-01-12T10:24:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T18:24:31","slug":"how-to-play-greenlight-on-piano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-play-greenlight-on-piano\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Play &#8220;Greenlight&#8221; by Lorde"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lorde is one of the best songwriters making music these days. When \u2018Greenlight\u2019 was released as a single, it became an instant fav of mine. And when that piano riff comes in to introduce the chorus, I just knew I had to learn it. So without further adieu\u2026<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><\/p>\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.ca\/detail\/858011152\" 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:66.498314% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/858011152?et=d_4LwMNNRmZ9-KlfMGGbFQ&amp;tld=ca&amp;sig=nhBbkbvgaC41MHpwOkQbj6mFqzvzmT8eAmPdpwA720I=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"395\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look, I don&#8217;t wanna <strong>Lorde<\/strong> it over you&#8230;but have you been practicing your scales?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>The Verse Chords &nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The opening chords for this song are really simple, consisting of long drawn out notes that leave plenty of room for the melody. If you want to follow along with that melody, all you have to do is play is an <\/span><strong>F#m <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord, followed by an <\/span><strong>A <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord and then move down to the <\/span><strong>D <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord. As you practice these chords listen for the mood these chords produce. Does the progression sound a little dark and moody to you? That\u2019s because the verse starts on that <\/span><strong>F#m <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord, which is a <\/span><strong>minor <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord. Oftentimes, the first chord in a progression will dictate that part of the song\u2019s <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mood <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">feeling<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It\u2019s a great idea to really listen to how a verse or chorus makes you feel, as that will give you some hints on that the chords might be. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since these chords are so simple, you can play them as written, or try out different inversions if you\u2019re looking for a different sound or challenge. You can even play the triads in your left hand and use your ear to figure out the melody in the right hand if you want to play an entirely instrumental version of the song! &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\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.ca\/detail\/453144958\" 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\/453144958?et=7qpJ0P-eSs5g3LEo6xxCMA&amp;tld=ca&amp;sig=xi-dIOdmwuxTtXrUGzAjCDFHZJK6TS7gEC-LveTZqEs=&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><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Wouldn&#8217;t it be freaky if Lorde could <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">hear<\/span> sounds in&nbsp;your&nbsp;mind?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>The Prechorus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prechorus of this song switches up the chords a little bit, starting on an <\/span><strong>E <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord before moving down to play a <\/span><strong>D <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord and then jumping up to play an <\/span><strong>F#m <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These chords are presented in just simple triad format. Since you\u2019re <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">probably <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">already familiar with these chords, you can use this as an opportunity to listen for the changes. Again, take the time to hear for any mood shift that the chords produce. The prechorus contains that new <\/span><strong>E <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord, which is a new one for the song. Pay special notice to that this new chord brings to the table!<\/span><\/p>\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.ca\/detail\/482977123\" 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\/482977123?et=8TEDanJjTKdvAN4TaUPhdg&amp;tld=ca&amp;sig=TvGCh9C2AkXYBeYzRBfoCm5yKnKA4G-5-PmqMvtqDxM=&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><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>You&#8217;ve gotten this far&#8230;can you master Lorde&#8217;s iconic piano part in the chorus?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>The Chorus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chorus is my favourite part of this song. It contains a really cool keyboard riff that\u2019s a ton of fun to play. To play this section, start off look at just the chords. The first chord in the progression is a <\/span><strong>G <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord, followed by a <\/span><strong>D <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord and finally landing on an <\/span><strong>A <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chord. If you play these chords, you\u2019ll hear how the progression sounds so much brighter than the verse and prechorus. That\u2019s because it\u2019s using only major chords! It\u2019s amazing how powerful the minor chord is in a song like this. Just one minor chord can totally alter the feeling of a chord progression. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you get the chords down, you\u2019ll want to shift the work on your right hand part to get the whole thing down. To visualize the right hand, put your hands on each chord in root position. The melody part moves from each chords <\/span><strong>2nd <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">note (the one above the root) to its <\/span><strong>3rd<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to create that piano movement.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to visualize it in terms of chord names, each chord starts on a <\/span><strong>sus2<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> chord before resolving on the traditional triad. It\u2019s a great technique to make a really simple chord progression sound more complex and sophisticated, so once you\u2019ve finished practicing this part, try this movement on some of your other favourite chords.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Putting It All Together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This song is a great song to learn if you\u2019re an aspiring songwriter. It\u2019s a perfect example of how far you can take simple chords if you know how to apply them as effectively as you can. Take the chorus part hands together if you have to, keep your ears open, and most importantly&#8230;have FUN!<\/span><\/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>Lorde is one of the best songwriters making music these days. When \u2018Greenlight\u2019 was released as a single, it became an instant fav of mine. And when that piano riff comes in to introduce the chorus, I just knew I had to learn it. So without further adieu\u2026 Embed from Getty Images Look, I don&#8217;t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1105,508],"tags":[1086],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-rock","category-song-tutorials","tag-l3s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","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\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10686,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions\/10686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}