Keyboard tutorial on "As the deer" in the key of Ab (Part 1)

Hi everyone

Today I am very excited about this lesson, because it's packed with chords that you can take with you on your journey on how to play the piano or keyboard. This lesson is not for the beginner as it contains two hand chord movements and requires knowledge of the fundamentals that I have already covered on this blog. The sad news is that there are lot's of chords so I had to break it down into a two-part series. This lesson will only cover the first part of the song.

So let's get started!


Take a look at the video clip where I play the song, containing both parts...

Now to listen to the breakdown of the chord movements in this next video. Remember this will only cover the first section of the song...

Here is the first clip:

Ok so for those who like to read, let's start off by looking at the number system and scale of Ab:

Ab-Bb-C-Db-Eb-F-G-Ab

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1

Here are the lyrics with the chord progressions next to it:

 As the deer pants for the water (1-7-3-6-5)

So my soul longs after you (1-4-5-6)

You alone are my heart's desire (1-7-3-6-1)

And I long to worship you (4-2-5-1)

Ok let's look at the chords together:

The first line starts off with the 1 chord that you can play like this:

This chord only covers the "As" section of the first line. Afterwards you can play a single note in your right hand-Eb to cover the "the" section of the line. Now to play the 7 chord to cover "deer". Here it is: 

You will notice that the melody stays on Eb in your right hand. Next you move to the 3 chord movement which will act as a passing chord to get to the 6. This will cover part of the"pants" section in the first line:  

There are two chords that you can play over the 3 chord. The left hand remains the same but the right hand plays the two chords as illustrated in the picture. Remember this is just a passing to get to the 6 chord. On the 6 chord you will cover "for", like this: 

Next you will play two passing chords to get to the 4 chord, and those are the 5-1. Before you play the 5 chord, add a melody line Ab-Bb-C and then play the chord like this:

Now play the 1 chord:

These chords covered the "the water, So " section of the first line and it crosses over into the second line when you play the 1 passing chord. After you've played the 1 chord add a melody note for the "my" section of that line. Next you will cover the rest of that second section by playing the 4 chord for the "soul" section in the second line:

As you land on the 4 chord, you can add a melody in both hands C-A-C-Bb (Please look at the video if this is unclear). That adds a nice flavor! Now for the section "longs after". That will be covered when you move to the 5 chord. You will be playing two chords on the 5. The first chord can be played like this: 

 The second chord looks like this: 

Next we move onto the 6 chord  to  cover "you". You can play it like this:

You start off by playing the C melody note in your right hand then play the right hand chord with the first left hand part then you sustain the right hand and add the left hand chord as shown in the second part of the chord.  If this doesn't make any sense, please go back to the video clip to look at how I did it. The 7 chord will act as a passing to get back to the 1 for the next 2 lines. This will also require you to play two chords on the right hand, like this:

Before you play the left hand chord, play a right hand chord first as shown in the first part of the picture then you play both hand chords. 

The next section of the song is You alone are my heart's desire (1-7-3-6-1). This time the 1 chord can be played like this:

The 1 chord only covers the "You" section in that line. The "alone are my heart's" section uses the same progression as discussed above starting from the 7-3-6. The difference comes in when you get to "desire ". Previously you went to the 5-1-4 progression, but this time you can skip the 5 and go to the 1-5b-4 progression. So let's look at the 1 chord:

Remember this is just to cover the "desire" section. The "and I" section is covered by the 5b (flat 5) chord. You can play it like this:

This brings you back to 4 chord the second time around. The 4 chord covers "long" which is also played a little different than before:

Add a grace note from Eb-F in your right hand. Finally we will look at the last section, which is to worship you (4-2-5-1). We already covered the 4 chord, now let's look at the 2chord. This is also just a passing chord to get to the 5 chord: 

This chord covers the "to" section on the last line then you move second to last chord, which is the 5 chord to cover the "worship" section. 

On this chord play your left hand notes as single notes and arpeggiate them instead of trying to them together. Finally the LAST chord for this series returns back to the 1 chord like this:

There we go! The first part has been covered. This was very exciting stuff since I believe there's some great chords in this song that was covered and you can practice them and make it part of your playing style.

I hope you have enjoyed this lessons and feel free to comment, share with others and like this lesson. It will mean a lot to me if you would subscribe to my Youtube channel and email list at the top right corner of this site.

All the best!