This song is in the key of F. The basic riff that starts off the song is based on a D note in the left hand and an F major in the second inversion in the right hand. This combination gives us a D minor seventh. All the left hand does is pound away at eighth notes. While the left hand is doing this, the right hand plays quarter notes. The second note is B flat. At the end of the section with the B flat, you'll move up the pinky of the right hand to hit a C note. You can see what I mean but watching me play in the video. The third note is an F in the left hand, with an F major in the right. He plays that for a while before switching to a C suspended chord in the right hand, and the left hand still on the F. Now the pattern repeats itself a bit, going back to the D minor, then B flat, F and finally ending on A.
As a solo piano piece, we aren't going to keep playing that all the way throughout the song, although on the recording that is exactly what he does. WIthout a band and vocals to back us up, we need to play the melody line ourselves. The melody is based around the F triad. Use my playing in the video, and the skills you've learned for picking out melodies to see if you can teach yourself this melody.
In the next lesson, we'll talk a little more about how to give a solo piano arrangement the full sound that one normally gets from having a full band playing behind you.
Watch Part 2 of The Scientist by Coldplay .
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