Halo

Halo, a quintessential piano-driven anthem by singer, dancer and songwriter powerhouse Beyoncé, was released in 2008 to much acclaim. Featuring piano at the fore, Halo is a wonderful example of a classic piano style I like to call the Hi-Low-Mid-Low arpeggio. Using four chords from the key of A Major (A, Bm, F#m and D), the right hand consistently plays the top, bottom and middle note of each triad, while the left hand holds steady with whole note bass lines. In our accompaniment version, the main riff with some variations is recycled throughout, but in our melody version, the melody is played whenever there are vocals. The accompaniment lesson is certainly more beginner friendly whereas the melody version is most appropriate for intermediate to advanced players.

If you’re struggling to piece together the intro then I would recommend starting with the four chords of the intro sans rhythm, and making sure you know how each chord leads to the next. The first three chords are all played in second inversion, followed by D Major root position. Once you know the shapes and the placement on the piano, you can start to integrate the arpeggio pattern.

This song can be felt with either a slow four-count, at 80 beats per minute, or with a fast four-count at 160bpm. While this doesn’t change the performance of the song, it does change the way it is notated. Interestingly, we decided to write our melody version in slow four which means the main riff is played with 16th notes, whereas our accompaniment version, which is easier to play, is written in fast four so that the main riff is played with eighth notes. How do you feel the beat for this one?