Pieces › Accompanying real hits

Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen / Jeff Buckley: arpeggios in 6/8

Hallelujah is in C, in 6/8. The verse alternates C and A minor, climbs through F and G, and ends on E7 – A minor. The chorus: F – A minor – F – C – G – C.

You accompany it with six-eighth-note arpeggios, one measure per chord, as in Jeff Buckley’s version.

The song: Leonard Cohen, 1984 · Jeff Buckley version, 1994 · C major, 6/8

Tips

• The pattern climbs over four notes and comes back down over two: fingers 1-2-3-5-3-2.
• Let each note ring, without rushing.

The verse in arpeggios

Sixteen measures, one chord per measure. The computer plays the bass.

The chorus with both hands

F – A minor – F – C – G – C, twice. Left hand: each chord’s bass note.