{"id":9289,"date":"2022-11-04T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=9289"},"modified":"2023-01-12T14:54:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T22:54:54","slug":"dont-stop-believin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/dont-stop-believin\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Play &#8220;Don&#8217;t Stop Believin'&#8221; (Journey)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Journey\u2019s hit \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019\u201d is a song almost anyone can belt out on cue. It\u2019s an anthem, it\u2019s a banger, and if you\u2019re the piano player, you\u2019re the star!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this tutorial, we\u2019ll teach you how to play the piano part to this iconic song. We\u2019ll break down the rhythms so you\u2019re ready to rock with the band. To really master the song, we encourage you to play along with the track. If you\u2019re a Pianote Member, you can also use our handy Practice-Along feature. It\u2019ll accelerate your <em>journey <\/em>for sure! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#intro\">Intro<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#verse\">Verse and Build-Up<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#chorus\">Chorus<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\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 style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Never Miss a Song Tutorial<\/b><\/h3><p>Love our video tutorial? Your favorite song might be next! Subscribe to our newsletter for piano news, exclusive interviews, new tutorials, interesting articles, and more delivered to your inbox every week. Unsubscribe at any time.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Want the sheet music? <\/strong>Pianote Members get access to our sheet music library of transcribed songs. If you&#8217;re not a member yet, start a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">7-day free trial<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"intro\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Intro<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only does the \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019\u201d\u2019s intro make the song instantly recognizable, it drives the entire song. So get to know these patterns well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s probably easier to learn the right hand first. These rocking chords form the bread and butter of the entire song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130845\/Dont-Stop-Believin-1-1-1024x267.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130845\/Dont-Stop-Believin-1-1-1024x267.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130845\/Dont-Stop-Believin-1-1-300x78.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130845\/Dont-Stop-Believin-1-1-768x200.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130845\/Dont-Stop-Believin-1-1-1536x401.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130845\/Dont-Stop-Believin-1-1-2048x534.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On our left hand, we\u2019ll play a walking bass. A neat thing about this song is that our walking bass acts as our melody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might notice that the root notes don\u2019t always land on a downbeat. In fact, they land on the \u201cand\u201d of beat 4 most of the time. These are called pushes and they look like this broken down:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130913\/Dont-Stop-Believin-2-1024x267.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130913\/Dont-Stop-Believin-2-1024x267.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130913\/Dont-Stop-Believin-2-300x78.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130913\/Dont-Stop-Believin-2-768x200.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130913\/Dont-Stop-Believin-2-1536x401.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31130913\/Dont-Stop-Believin-2-2048x534.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Practice this slowly at first and use the rocking chords on your right hand to help you anchor a steady beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"verse\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Verse and Build-Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You essentially repeat the intro pattern underneath the verse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there\u2019s a fun little lead-in after the verse that\u2019s worthy of mention: two shots of a chord right after the speedy guitar solo:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31133304\/Dont-Stop-Believin-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9293\" width=\"320\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31133304\/Dont-Stop-Believin-3.png 640w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/31133304\/Dont-Stop-Believin-3-300x212.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Again, try this with the recording to get it down pat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, build up towards the chorus with some eighth note chords. You can play a crescendo to up the ante:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" 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\/Don%27t%20Stop%20Believin%27\/don%27t%20stop%20believin%20ramp%20up-min.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\">\ud83c\udfb9 <b><i>DID YOU KNOW?<\/i><\/b> The title of Journey\u2019s hit can be traced to keyboardist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/journey-dont-stop-believin_n_5ae9b94de4b022f71a03cef1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jonathan Cain\u2019s<\/a> father. When Cain was in Los Angeles looking for his big break, he almost gave up and called his father, asking whether he should just go home. But his father said, \u201cNo, no, don\u2019t come home. Stick to your guns. Don\u2019t stop believin\u2019.\u201d Cain and the band rocketed to stardom shortly after.<\/span>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"chorus\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Chorus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For the chorus, you\u2019ll be playing eighth notes with your left hand and chords on your right that hit the first and the \u201cand\u201d of beat 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" 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\/Don%27t%20Stop%20Believin%27\/Don%27t%20Stop%20Believin%27%20Chorus-min.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It may help to count out loud or to draw lines on your sheet music to help match up these notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026And that is essentially the entire song! You\u2019ll know you\u2019re a great piano player when you can play it up to speed with the rest of the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re not a Pianote Member yet but want to try out the Practice-Along feature, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">try our membership for free<\/a>. And don\u2019t forget to have fun! Happy playing \ud83d\ude42<\/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 style=\"font-size:20px;\"><b>Learn Your Favorites, Step By Step<\/b><\/h3><p> As a Pianote Member, you\u2019ll get access to our 10-step Method, song library, and growing community of piano players just like you. Plus: get coached by world-class pianists who have played with rock stars.<\/p><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center><br><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to play \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019\u201d by Journey step-by-step with Kevin Castro and get ready to belt with your friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":9654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1105,508],"tags":[1086],"class_list":["post-9289","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\/9289","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\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9289"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9608,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9289\/revisions\/9608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}