Rocket Man - Piano Lessonby Elton John

Rocket Man was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It appeared on the album Honky Chateau in 1972 and was also released as a single. In this lesson, we’ll talk about the 6 different triads used in the song. Four of them are played with either an added 2 or an added 7. Additionally, there is a signature bassline that employs “slash chords” that use a bass note other than the chord name note. As usual, we’ll first go through each part of the song with chords in root position – then follow that up by using the technique of finding the nearest inversion. In the song-specific techniques section, I’ll describe the specific rhythms in the song as well as the several Elton John’s licks used in the song.