Piano Cover of "Free Worshipper"

Free Worshipper piano chords aren’t hard, but the song will expose you if your time isn’t solid. This is how I play Todd Dulaney‘s praise song in the video above, and how you can hold it down at full speed. At 165 BPM it’s a runner, and the piano’s job is to keep the pulse honest.

Fast praise, built for the dance

This is a high-energy praise song. In a service it goes early in the set or right after the Word when the leader wants the room on its feet. At 165 BPM, everyone on the platform is locked to the drummer, and the keys are one of the instruments that tell the congregation where the beat is.

That means simple, clean and on time. A fast song played tight sounds bigger than a fast song played busy. If you’re not sure whether to add something, don’t.

Getting comfortable in B♭

The recording is in B♭ major. Two flats, which is good news, because at this tempo you don’t want to be fighting a hard key. Here’s your toolkit:

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

For a patch, go with a punchy acoustic piano that cuts, or layer it with a gospel organ for the chorus. If you’re the only keys player, the organ layer helps fill the room when the band opens up.

What the harmony is doing

We don’t have a full chart for Free Worshipper on the site yet, so I’m not going to give you a section-by-section progression from memory. The song sits in the familiar praise family, 1, 4, 5 and 6m in B♭, and it moves those chords around quickly. The energy comes from the rhythm, not from fancy harmony.

Listen to the bass in the video above and count which number it’s on. If you’re used to playing by ear, you’ll find the shape within a few run-throughs. Our Ear Trainer is a good place to train that skill if it still feels slow.

How to play Free Worshipper piano chords at 165 BPM

• Right hand: short, tight stabs on triads in eighth notes. Don’t roll the chords and don’t hold them too long. Try B♭ as D, F, B♭ and E♭ as E♭, G, B♭ so the hand barely moves between them.
• Left hand: octaves on the root. Every beat. Your left hand is half a bass player here, so keep it even and strong.
• The gospel move: use a 5/7, F/A (F, A, C over A in the bass), to step between the 6m (Gm) and the 1 or between the 1 and the 6m. The bass moves by step (B♭, A, G) and the band will feel the walk.
• For the hits: when the band stops together, cut your chord dead. Fast praise lives on those stops.

If the voicings feel clumsy at speed, slow them down in the Chord Voicing Lab first, then bring the tempo up.

If the leader moves it

Fast praise gets moved all the time, usually a tone up or down for the lead singer. Think in numbers and you won’t care. In C, the 1, 4, 5, 6m become C, F, G, Am. In A♭, they’re A♭, D♭, E♭, Fm.

Keep Gig Mode open on your music stand for those last-minute calls. At 165 BPM there’s no time to work out letters in your head.

Twenty minutes of practice

1. Left-hand octaves only, B♭, E♭, F and Gm, at 120 BPM on the Smart Metronome. Five minutes.
2. Add right-hand stabs. Keep both hands perfectly together. Five minutes.
3. Push the metronome up in steps of 10 until you hit 165. Stop if your hands start to tense. Five minutes.
4. Play with the video and practise the stops. Every hit should be clean. Five minutes.

FAQ

What key is Free Worshipper in?

The recording is in B♭ major at 165 BPM.

Is Free Worshipper hard to play on piano?

The chords are simple. The tempo is the test. Build up speed with a metronome and it comes.

Should I play the same thing as the organ?

No. If you have an organist, play shorter, higher stabs on piano and let the organ hold the middle.

When you need to come down from this one, One Name Jesus is a good slow song to pair with it in a set.