How to play "Zion"

This Zion piano tutorial takes the Mmuso Worship song featuring Oncemore Six apart one section at a time, in the original key of B major. It looks scary on paper because of the sharps, but the song repeats one honest shape, and once your hand knows it, you can play it with your eyes on the worship leader instead of the keys.

What Zion does in the room

Zion is a mid-tempo worship song, sitting around 118 BPM. That’s quick enough to keep people standing, but it never rushes. It works well as the song that turns a praise set toward worship: the energy is still up, yet the harmony keeps coming home to the 1 in a way that settles the room.

Your job on keys is to carry the floor. The drums and bass have the groove covered. You’re holding the harmony steady so the vocals can float on top.

Getting comfortable in B major

B major has five sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯. Here are the chords you’ll lean on:

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

Good news: B, E and F♯ all sit with the thumb on a white key and the middle finger on a black one, so the shapes feel similar. For the sound, start on a warm acoustic piano and blend in a soft pad underneath. Pull the pad back if the band has a dedicated pad player.

Step by step: the Zion piano tutorial in numbers

All three sections come straight from our full chord chart for Zion. Notice how much they share.

Step 1: the verse

1 to 4 to 1 to 6m7 to 4(6) to 5 to 1. In letters: B, E, B, G♯m7, E6, F♯, B. The G♯m7 (G♯, B, D♯, F♯) is the moment the verse leans in. Then E6 adds a C♯ on top of the E chord, which gives it a soft, open colour before the F♯ pulls you home.

Step 2: the chorus

1 to 2m7 to 6m7 to 1 to 4(6) to 5 to 1. That’s B, C♯m7, G♯m7, B, E6, F♯, B. The C♯m7 (C♯, E, G♯, B) is the only new chord in the whole song. Learn it and you have Zion.

Step 3: the bridge

The bridge uses the same numbers as the verse. Don’t learn anything new here. Change the dynamics instead: thin out for the first pass, then build.

Voicings that sit well on a Sunday

Keep the right hand in the middle of the keyboard, around the B above middle C. Play the 1 as D♯, F♯, B so the top note is the root, then move to E6 as E, G♯, C♯ by shifting only what has to move. That small voice leading is what makes the song sound smooth instead of jumpy.

The left hand should mostly hold roots, either single notes or octaves. Don’t fill every gap. At 118 BPM, a busy left hand fights the bass player.

One gospel move worth trying: before the last 1 of the chorus, play F♯sus4 (F♯, B, C♯) for two beats, then drop to F♯. It lets the line breathe before it lands. Keep it to the turnaround so it doesn’t become a habit in every bar.

When the worship leader wants it lower

B major can sit high for some voices, and A or B♭ are common requests. This is where the Nashville Number System earns its keep. The song is still 1, 4, 6m7, 4(6), 5 and 2m7, whatever the letters say. In A, the verse becomes A, D, A, F♯m7, D6, E, A.

The Zion chart page has the chords written in every key. If you need the letters on stage, load the song into Gig Mode and switch keys with one tap.

A 20-minute practice plan

1. 5 minutes: play B, E, F♯, G♯m7, C♯m7 and E6 one at a time, hands together, until you can find each without looking.
2. 5 minutes: loop the verse slowly with the Smart Metronome at 80, then 100.
3. 5 minutes: loop the chorus, focusing on the C♯m7 to G♯m7 move.
4. 5 minutes: play along with the video above at full speed, verse into chorus.

Quick answers

What key is Zion in?

The original is in B major, with the 1 chord as B.

Is Zion hard to play on piano?

Not really. The sharps look busy, but there are only six chords in the whole song and the sections repeat.

What’s the hardest chord in Zion?

For most players it’s C♯m7 in the chorus, simply because it’s the one chord the verse doesn’t use.

Once Zion feels settled, try You Are Good next for a faster praise loop.