Piano Cover of "Be Lifted"

Here’s my take on Be Lifted piano chords: how I approach MOG Music’s song of exaltation in A major, and what you need in your hands to play it with a band on Sunday. It’s a song about putting God in the highest place, and the keys should help the room get there without crowding the singers.

Where Be Lifted fits in a service

A song with a title like this naturally lands in the stretch of a set where the church turns from singing about God to singing to Him. Whether your leader takes it as a steady build or lets it float, the shape is the same: start small, grow with the room, and pull back when the leader does.

The biggest mistake I hear is playing the whole thing at one volume. Treat it as a song with a beginning, a climb and a release. Your dynamics should follow the leader’s voice, not the other way round.

Setting up in A major

The version in our video sits in A major, three sharps. The numbers you’ll use most:

• 1: A
• 2m: Bm
• 4: D
• 5: E
• 6m: F♯m

A is a friendly key for worship keys. Most of what you need is on white notes, with C♯, F♯ and G♯ as your only black keys. For a patch, I’d pair a bright piano with a pad that you can swell in for the bigger sections. If you have a second keyboard player, give them the pad and keep yourself on piano.

Reading the Be Lifted piano chords by ear

We don’t have a full chart for this song on the site yet, so I’m not going to give you a progression I can’t stand behind. What you can count on is the family: in A major, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m (A, D, E and F♯m) are the chords to have ready, with the 2m (Bm) close by. Play along with the video and follow the bass. When it moves, name the number. Write the numbers on a page as you go and you’ll have your own map by the end of the second listen.

If your ear needs a bit of a workout first, ten minutes on the Ear Trainer hearing 1 to 4 and 1 to 6m moves will make this much quicker.

Voicings and one move worth learning

• Right hand: spread the 1 out. A, C♯, E with A on top, then lift the whole shape an octave for the louder sections. Wide and clear beats busy.
• Left hand: octaves on the root, with a pickup into each new chord when the band is driving.
• The 2⁷: when the song is heading to the 5, try B7 (B, D♯, F♯, A) where a Bm would normally go. It’s a secondary dominant, and it pushes into the E far harder than the plain minor does.
• The sus: hold Esus4 (E, A, B) for a beat before the E. It gives the singers a moment to breathe before the resolution.

The Chord Voicing Lab is a good place to hear B7 against Bm side by side.

Another key, same song

If your leader prefers it lower, G is a common choice, and your 1, 4, 5 and 6m become G, C, D and Em. Higher, in B♭, they become B♭, E♭, F and Gm. The shape doesn’t change, only the letters.

Load the song in Gig Mode and you won’t be doing that maths in the middle of a set.

Practice plan for this week

1. Five minutes: run A, D, E, F♯m and Bm as triads up and down the keyboard.
2. Five minutes: drill B7 to E to A until the move feels natural.
3. Five minutes: play along with the video, left hand only.
4. Five minutes: both hands, focusing on dynamics: soft verse, full climb, soft ending.

FAQ

What key is Be Lifted in?

The version in our video is in A major, with A, D, E and F♯m as the main chords.

Who sings Be Lifted?

The version we play is by MOG Music.

Do I need a synth to play it?

No. A good piano sound does the job. A pad helps in the bigger sections, but it’s a bonus, not a requirement.

To bring the room down afterwards, try Umuhle Baba, or browse our worship song charts for your next set.