Nathaniel School of Music

How to Actually Play A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton (Piano Tutorial)

The A Thousand Miles piano intro sits in B major, with a recurring left-hand bass line of E, F#, D#, E under a right-hand riff built around a B octave, counted in semiquavers (one e and a) and played with sustain pedal changed at each chord.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 16 min

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Key points

What this lesson teaches

This lesson from Jason Zac at Nathaniel School of Music breaks down the famous piano intro of A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton. The intro is not hard, but it is rhythmically intense. It shows how an arpeggio can sound like a melody and how clever bass notes create slash chords. It suits beginners and early intermediate players. You do not need to read sheet music, though reading is a useful extra skill.

Start with the key: B major

The song is in B major, which has five sharps. Before learning any song, it helps to write out the scale and its chords:

These scale degrees become the chords you will meet in the song.

The left hand: a recurring bass line

The left hand is the easiest part to catch because it repeats. The notes are:

  1. E
  2. F#
  3. D#
  4. E

These are not always the roots of the chords above them. Vanessa Carlton uses many slash chords, which is why the bass can feel slightly confusing at first. The chords change quickly, so keep the bass moving steadily.

Counting the bass

The first bass note lands on the beat, on count one. You could count in quavers (one and two and), but the riff is best felt in semiquavers: one e and a, two e and a, three e and a, four e and a. Counting this way keeps you accurate when you speed up. It can also help to count a few virtual beats in your head before you begin.

Watch the very last E. It is placed early, just ahead of the beat, so it pulls you forward into the verse. Many good pop pianists use this trick at the end of an intro.

The right hand: the riff

Hand position

The ring finger is naturally the weakest and least independent finger. To give it more strength, push your wrist slightly and rotate your hand as if you were turning a key to unlock a door. This rotation gives the A# a clear, solid sound.

Line one

Learn the first line slowly, first hands separately and then with the bass. Notice the gap in the line, where you count three, and the small group of three notes inside it. Knowing your intervals makes the shapes easier to remember.

Line two: the tricky part

The second line repeats F# and B three times. Here you count one, two, three without stopping, but this time you play notes inside that three. It ends with four semiquavers. Getting the bass to line up with this may take days of steady practice, so be patient.

Lines three and four

Line three is the same as line one. Line four is simple and is built around F# and C#, played twice.

How to practise it

The intro still sounds fine without pedal. With pedal it sounds dreamier and fuller, because the piano's strings resonate and add overtones above each note.

Questions about this lesson

What key is A Thousand Miles in on piano?

The intro is in B major, which has five sharps: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G# and A#.

What are the left-hand notes for the A Thousand Miles intro?

The left hand repeats the bass notes E, F#, D# and E. These are often not the chord roots, because the song uses slash chords.

How do I make my weak ring finger play the A# clearly?

Push your wrist slightly and rotate your hand as if turning a key in a door. This lets the arm add power to the ring finger.

Should I use the sustain pedal for this intro?

Yes. Hold the right pedal through each chord and lift it quickly when the chord changes, which makes the sound fuller and dreamier without getting muddy.

Practise it

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