Piano Cover of "Oceans"

Playing the Oceans piano chords well is less about the notes and more about the space between them. Hillsong United‘s song is slow, wide and patient, and the keys player who rushes it ruins the moment. Here’s how I approach it in E♭, and how you can make it breathe in your church.

What Oceans asks of the keys

Oceans is a reflective worship song. It usually lands late in the set, when the room is quiet and the leader wants people to sit with the words. The build is long: it starts almost empty and grows over several minutes into a full-band peak, then falls away again.

That means you’re managing dynamics more than chords. Start soft. Stay soft longer than feels comfortable. When the band builds, build with them, and when they drop, drop first.

E♭ major and the right sound

We play this cover in E♭ major. It’s a warm key on the piano and sits well for most worship leaders. The chords that live in E♭:

• 1 = E♭ (E♭, G, B♭)
• 2m = Fm (F, A♭, C)
• 4 = A♭ (A♭, C, E♭)
• 5 = B♭ (B♭, D, F)
• 6m = Cm (C, E♭, G)

Sound matters a lot on this song. Pick a soft piano and blend in a pad with a slow attack. If you play alone, the pad does the work a full band would do: it fills the room while your piano notes speak on top. Turn the pad down when the drums come in, or it turns to mush.

The Oceans piano chords and the shape of the song

We don’t have our own chart for Oceans on the site yet, so I won’t print a progression. Here’s what I can say safely: it’s a modern worship song built on a small set of chords from the key, mostly the 1, 4, 5 and 6m, repeated with patience. The power comes from the arrangement, not from tricky harmony.

So learn it by ear with the video above. Listen to the lowest note on each change and match it to the list. If you can hear the bass, you can find the chord. Our Ear Trainer builds exactly that skill.

Voicings for a song that needs room

• Right hand high: play your chords in the upper middle of the keyboard. Cm as E♭, G, C sounds open and light up there.
• Left hand low and still: one long root note per chord. No walking, no octaves bouncing. Let it ring.
• Add the 2nd: on the 1, play E♭, F, B♭ instead of a plain triad. On the 4, try A♭, B♭, E♭. The added 2nd gives the sound a floating quality that suits this song.

One move that lifts it: hold the 5 as a suspended chord, B♭sus4 (B♭, E♭, F), and only resolve to B♭ if the phrase really needs it. Leaving it hanging keeps the tension that the song lives on. The other option is a 5 over the 7 (B♭/D) when moving back to the 1 or up to Cm. The bass steps through D and the line sounds connected.

If the leader calls a different key

Lots of leaders sing this one lower or higher than E♭. Don’t relearn it. Think in numbers: the 1, 4, 5 and 6m do the same jobs in any key. Use Gig Mode to see the letters for the new key on the day, and if you want to spell your sus and add2 voicings in the new key first, the Chord Voicing Lab shows them clearly.

Practise it in 15 minutes

1. Play the five chords above in E♭ with a sus or add2 on each, slowly.
2. Play along with the first verse of the video using only left-hand roots. Get the changes right before adding anything else.
3. Add the right hand high and soft. Record yourself and check you’re not rushing the changes.
4. Practise the build: play one chorus at your quietest, then the next at full strength.

Oceans on piano: quick FAQs

What key do you play Oceans in?

Our cover is in E♭ major. Leaders often move it to suit their voice, so learn it in numbers.

Is Oceans good for beginners?

Yes. The chords are simple. The hard part is playing softly and holding back, which is a great skill to learn early.

Looking for the next atmospheric worship song? Try Jireh, also in E♭.