“Living Hope” by Phil Wickham is a great worship song to learn on piano because it gives you plenty of room to practice both simple chord accompaniment and more developed playing. The song has a strong sense of movement, making it especially useful for learning how to adjust your piano part as the intensity of a song changes.
In this tutorial, we'll break down the chords and then put them into practice with two different playing styles.
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Learn the Chords First
The foundation of the song is its chord progression. In the video, I'll demonstrate how to form the chords and show you how they fit together throughout the song.
If you're learning worship piano, take some time to practice the chord shapes separately before trying to play along with the entire song. The more familiar the shapes become, the easier it will be to focus on your rhythm and accompaniment.
A Simple Approach
The first version keeps the piano part accessible and uncomplicated.
This is a good option if you're a beginner, if you're still working on smooth chord transitions, or if you need a piano part that provides support without taking up too much musical space.
Start here and work toward being able to play the entire song comfortably without stopping.
Build a More Complete Sound
Once you've got the basic version down, the tutorial also demonstrates a more advanced approach.
Instead of changing the chords, we'll change how the chords are played. Adding movement, different voicings, and patterns can make the accompaniment sound much fuller while still keeping the song recognizable and singable.
This is an important skill for worship pianists because the same chord progression can serve very different purposes depending on how you play it.
Practice With the Video
Follow along with the tutorial below as you learn “Living Hope” on piano.
I recommend learning the simple version first and then using the advanced version as a source of ideas. You don't have to reproduce every note exactly. Choose the patterns that fit your ability and gradually make them your own.
As you continue learning worship songs, you'll start to recognize that many of the same piano techniques can be applied from one song to another—which makes learning new songs much easier over time.
Start Your Worship Piano Journey
Want to keep growing as a worship pianist? The Worship Piano Membership gives you a clear, step-by-step path to playing with confidence and freedom—all from a heart of worship. 1-on-1 lessons are also available for a more personalized approach.
