Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
Most people learn a song by copying it note by note - and when they finish, the next one is just as hard. This lesson goes the other way. Same beautiful song, but what you're really learning is how to read a page, how to spot the shapes that repeat, and how to practice so it sticks.
Get the complete 8-part "Going Home" lesson - every page, plus the printable annotated sheet music and 20 years of my piano lessons - for $1 for 7 days at webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer - cancel any time.
WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LEARNING HERE
All of it applies to every song you'll ever sit down with, not just this one:
• What a key signature is really telling you. Two sharps means F sharp and C sharp, in a fixed order - so you know which notes to expect before you play them.
• The "one chord" of the key. In D that's D, F sharp and A, and once you can see that group of three it turns up over and over on the page.
• A chord is a recipe, not an order. E, G and B is E minor whether it's spelled B-E-G or G-B-E.
• How chords are named off the alphabet. D is the one chord, so the next letter, E, is the minor two chord.
• The left-hand shape under most rock and pop piano: an octave, with your second finger falling naturally on the fifth.
• The arpeggiation squiggle - and the timing trick nobody teaches: roll it EARLY so the top note lands with the bass, not after it.
• Inversions - a G chord with B in the bass, and when the bass note stops naming the chord.
• Accidentals outside the key. You expect the fastball, but you adjust for the curve.
• Tied notes, tenuto marks, decrescendos - and why fingerings matter less than people think.
• And the part most lessons skip: a real practice system. One measure, repeated until it's yours. Then two. Then the line.
THE SONG
"Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)" by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, written for the 1983 film and now one of the most recognisable pieces he ever wrote. A solo piano arrangement in the key of D; this video covers the whole first page, played all the way through at the end.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Going Home - the first page, played
0:10 What this lesson is really about
0:51 Hear line 1, then read the key signature
1:52 The one chord of the key: D, F sharp and A
2:52 The roll mark, and why you start on count four
3:39 The left-hand shape behind most rock and pop
4:21 How many repetitions a measure really needs
4:51 Patterns: a telescope, not a microscope
5:34 Don't be a copycat robot
6:13 Line 1, hands together
6:34 Line 2 - a sharp that isn't in the key
7:18 Expect the fastball, adjust for the curve
7:34 Left hand first, and why fingerings don't matter much
8:16 E minor, the two chord, and the chord recipe
8:51 F sharp minor - sharp the F and the C
9:34 Expect it, and it makes sense
9:52 Experiment - the page isn't the law
10:30 How to practice: one bar, two bars, two lines
11:01 Line 3 - crossing over without a jump
12:08 Roll the chord so the top note lands on the beat
12:26 A G chord with B in the bass
13:08 How I write tied notes, and tenuto marks
13:33 Line 3 all the way through, then line 4
14:06 Be a stickler about your repetitions
14:37 Don't skip steps
15:03 Line 4, and the decrescendo
15:20 The whole first page, hands together
WHO THIS IS FOR
Adults who played as a kid and want to come back to it. Players who get through a piece but were never taught what they're looking at. Anybody who has copied notes off a page for years and suspects there's a better way. You don't need to read fluently - every notehead on my sheets has its letter inside it.
HOW TO PRACTICE ALONG
Pause the video. That's the whole trick. I play each measure once because a video of me playing it seven times would be unwatchable - but you need the seven. One measure, three to seven reps, every time. Then join it to the one before, build the line, then join the lines.
THE REST OF GOING HOME
This is page one of eight. All eight parts, the sheet music, and every lesson I've made in twenty years: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer - $1 for 7 days.
Shawn Cheek - Web Piano Teacher
#pianolesson #GoingHome #MarkKnopfler #LocalHero #DireStraits #pianotutorial #learnpiano #adultpiano #pianopractice #pianochords #keyofD #howtoplaypiano
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?q=web+piano+teacher+reviews
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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Most people learn a song by copying it note by note - and when they finish, the next one is just as hard. This lesson goes the other way. Same beautiful song, but what you're really learning is how to read a page, how to spot the shapes that repeat, and how to practice so it sticks.
Get the complete 8-part "Going Home" lesson - every page, plus the printable annotated sheet music and 20 years of my piano lessons - for $1 for 7 days at webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer - cancel any time.
WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LEARNING HERE
All of it applies to every song you'll ever sit down with, not just this one:
• What a key signature is really telling you. Two sharps means F sharp and C sharp, in a fixed order - so you know which notes to expect before you play them.
• The "one chord" of the key. In D that's D, F sharp and A, and once you can see that group of three it turns up over and over on the page.
• A chord is a recipe, not an order. E, G and B is E minor whether it's spelled B-E-G or G-B-E.
• How chords are named off the alphabet. D is the one chord, so the next letter, E, is the minor two chord.
• The left-hand shape under most rock and pop piano: an octave, with your second finger falling naturally on the fifth.
• The arpeggiation squiggle - and the timing trick nobody teaches: roll it EARLY so the top note lands with the bass, not after it.
• Inversions - a G chord with B in the bass, and when the bass note stops naming the chord.
• Accidentals outside the key. You expect the fastball, but you adjust for the curve.
• Tied notes, tenuto marks, decrescendos - and why fingerings matter less than people think.
• And the part most lessons skip: a real practice system. One measure, repeated until it's yours. Then two. Then the line.
THE SONG
"Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)" by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, written for the 1983 film and now one of the most recognisable pieces he ever wrote. A solo piano arrangement in the key of D; this video covers the whole first page, played all the way through at the end.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Going Home - the first page, played
0:10 What this lesson is really about
0:51 Hear line 1, then read the key signature
1:52 The one chord of the key: D, F sharp and A
2:52 The roll mark, and why you start on count four
3:39 The left-hand shape behind most rock and pop
4:21 How many repetitions a measure really needs
4:51 Patterns: a telescope, not a microscope
5:34 Don't be a copycat robot
6:13 Line 1, hands together
6:34 Line 2 - a sharp that isn't in the key
7:18 Expect the fastball, adjust for the curve
7:34 Left hand first, and why fingerings don't matter much
8:16 E minor, the two chord, and the chord recipe
8:51 F sharp minor - sharp the F and the C
9:34 Expect it, and it makes sense
9:52 Experiment - the page isn't the law
10:30 How to practice: one bar, two bars, two lines
11:01 Line 3 - crossing over without a jump
12:08 Roll the chord so the top note lands on the beat
12:26 A G chord with B in the bass
13:08 How I write tied notes, and tenuto marks
13:33 Line 3 all the way through, then line 4
14:06 Be a stickler about your repetitions
14:37 Don't skip steps
15:03 Line 4, and the decrescendo
15:20 The whole first page, hands together
WHO THIS IS FOR
Adults who played as a kid and want to come back to it. Players who get through a piece but were never taught what they're looking at. Anybody who has copied notes off a page for years and suspects there's a better way. You don't need to read fluently - every notehead on my sheets has its letter inside it.
HOW TO PRACTICE ALONG
Pause the video. That's the whole trick. I play each measure once because a video of me playing it seven times would be unwatchable - but you need the seven. One measure, three to seven reps, every time. Then join it to the one before, build the line, then join the lines.
THE REST OF GOING HOME
This is page one of eight. All eight parts, the sheet music, and every lesson I've made in twenty years: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer - $1 for 7 days.
Shawn Cheek - Web Piano Teacher
#pianolesson #GoingHome #MarkKnopfler #LocalHero #DireStraits #pianotutorial #learnpiano #adultpiano #pianopractice #pianochords #keyofD #howtoplaypiano
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?q=web+piano+teacher+reviews
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
webpianoteacher.com
instagram.com/webpianoteacher
facebook.com/shawncheekeasypiano
twitter.com/webpianoteacher
tiktok.com/@shawnthewebpianoteacher
