How to Actually Play Clocks on Piano (Coldplay Tutorial)

Clocks by Coldplay is built on Eb major (G Bb Eb), Bb minor (F Bb Db) played twice, and F minor (F Ab C), with both hands playing each chord as a high-middle-low arpeggio grouped 3+3+2 and accented to create the song's syncopated feel.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 10 min

Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

What this lesson teaches

This lesson from Jason Zac at Nathaniel School of Music shows you how to play the famous two-handed arpeggio intro to Coldplay's Clocks. It also turns the pattern into a finger drill for nailing arpeggios. It is suitable for beginners who know basic triads and want a satisfying pop piece that also builds hand independence.

The key and the four chords

The song sits in a four-flat key, Ab major, even though an Ab chord never actually appears. The progression uses four chords, each held in a specific shape:

1. Eb major, played as G Bb Eb (first inversion)
2. Bb minor, played as F Bb Db (second inversion)
3. Bb minor again, the same shape
4. F minor, played as F Ab C

Both hands play the same chord shapes in parallel, an octave apart. This one progression carries the intro, the verse and most of the song, so once you have it you can sing almost the whole song over it. The bridge is different.

The arpeggio pattern: high, middle, low

Instead of holding the chords, you break each one up. The easiest way to think of it is high, middle, low. For each chord, play eight notes:

High, middle, low, high, middle, low, high, middle

Both hands copy the same pattern at the same time. Play it on every chord in the progression, slowly at first.

Fingering

• Left hand: pinky on the low note, middle finger on the middle note, index on the top note.
• Right hand: thumb on the low note, index on the middle note, ring finger on the top note.

Use the ring finger rather than the pinky for a black note on the right side, like the top Eb. The pinky is shorter, so reaching a black key with it forces you to move your elbow, which is best avoided.

Accents and pedal

The eight notes fall into groups of 3 + 3 + 2. Play the first note of each group a little harder. This gives the part its driving, syncopated feel. Hold the sustain pedal down for each chord and lift it between chords so the harmonies don't blur.

Variation: contrary motion

Once the parallel version is comfortable, let the hands move in opposite directions. One hand keeps the original high-middle-low pattern. The other plays low, middle, high, so as one hand descends the other rises. This adds extra harmonic colour, and Jason Zac uses this version in live gigs.

The 3 + 3 + 2 grouping of quavers is the tresillo rhythm, named from the word for three. It is a very popular rhythm in many songs. You can also flip the variation. The left hand plays the original pattern while the right hand plays the reversed one, and that sounds good too.

The ending

Towards the end, where the song becomes very vibrant, the right hand switches to a new arpeggio. The left hand keeps the original pattern. Over the first chord the right hand uses the notes Ab, G and Eb. Then move that shape to follow each following chord, coming down to C for the last chord. It can feel a little cluttered under the fingers, but it creates a rich wall of harmony.

How to practise

• Learn the four chord shapes in both hands until you can switch without looking.
• Play the high-middle-low pattern slowly with the suggested fingering, then bring it up to song speed.
• Add the 3 + 3 + 2 accents, then the pedal changes.
• Try both contrary-motion versions as drills.
• Finish with the ending pattern in the right hand over the original left hand.

Questions about this lesson

What chords are used in Clocks by Coldplay?

The progression is Eb major, Bb minor, Bb minor and F minor. On piano they are played as G Bb Eb, F Bb Db, F Bb Db and F Ab C.

What key is Clocks in?

It is in Ab major, a four-flat key, even though the Ab chord itself never appears in the progression.

Why does the Clocks arpeggio sound syncopated?

Each chord's eight notes are grouped as 3 + 3 + 2 quavers, the tresillo rhythm. Accenting the start of each group creates the off-beat, driving feel.

Which fingers should I use for the Clocks arpeggio?

Use pinky, middle and index in the left hand, and thumb, index and ring in the right hand. Use the ring finger rather than the pinky on a black note at the top, so you don't have to move your elbow.

Practise it

• Pop LessonsPractice companions for Jason Zac’s pop piano lessons: octave fillers, chord changes and inversions in every key.
• Rhythm TeacherBuild accent patterns, divide beats and explore odd metres and polyrhythms.
• Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• How to Play Someone Like You by Adele on Piano: Intro and VerseThe piano intro of Adele's Someone Like You is in A major and uses four chords (A, C#m/G#, F#5 and D in second inversion), each played for two bars as a low-middle-high-middle eighth-note arpeggio in the right hand over a held fifth in the left hand, with the sustain pedal down.
• How to Play "Take It Easy" on Piano (Eagles Tutorial)"Take It Easy" by the Eagles is in G major and is built mostly from G, C and D (I, IV and V) in the verse and Am, Em, C and G in the chorus, with a D7sus4 in the intro and an F/G colour chord in the closing bridge.
• 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions EasyTo make chord inversions musical, play the root position, first inversion and second inversion of a triad such as Bb major or C major through real rhythm patterns like block chords, oom-pah, waltz, broken chords, arpeggios, the tresillo, the Charleston, dual-speed arpeggios and floating inversions.
• 3 Piano Rhythm Techniques That Make Your Chords GrooveThe 3-3-2 piano rhythm groups eight eighth notes in a bar as 3+3+2, placing the hits on beat 1, the 'and' of beat 2 and beat 4, and you can play it as single chord hits, as accents within continuous eighth notes, or as arpeggios.