The La La Land Piano Theme: What It Actually Is
The piece you're looking for is composed by Justin Hurwitz for the 2016 film. It opens with a simple D major arpeggio pattern that repeats in the left hand while a vocal-like melody floats above it. The key signature has two sharps (Fand C#). If you've heard it in the context of the film, it's the recurring motif for the two main characters. It's not particularly harmonically complex, but it feels more difficult to play well than it actually is. The left hand pattern is basically D-A-F#-D across most of the piece. It cycles through G major and A major at certain points, which is where people tend to stumble. The right hand melody sits mostly around F#-G#-A-B notes. When I first tried to learn this, I assumed the A major section would be tricky because of the Fminor chords underneath, but the real problem was maintaining a consistent pulse while the melody naturally wants to push and pull. The rubato is written into the performance but not always clearly notated in sheet music, so you have to listen to the original recording to understand where the tempo stretches. I ran into a specific issue with one arrangement I was working from: the publisher had marked the dynamics very conservatively, mostly piano throughout, but the original film score has much wider dynamic swells. When I played it strictly by the sheet music, it sounded flat and unconvincing. The workaround was straightforward. I compared the sheet music against the actual soundtrack timing and rebuilt the dynamic contour from scratch, marking forte peaks at the C section and letting it drop back to almost inaudible at the return of the opening motif. Took about 30 minutes of work instead of just copying the printed dynamics verbatim.
Learning It Step by Step
Start by learning the left hand alone. The arpeggiated figure should be smooth and even. Practice it slowly until your fingers can find the shape without looking. Most people spend too much time on the right hand and neglect the left, which is backwards because the left hand is carrying the entire harmonic foundation and if it stumbles, everything falls apart. Once the left hand is automatic, add the right hand melody at half tempo. Don't try to combine them at speed. The two hands are doing completely different rhythmic work — the left hand is in a steady flowing 6/8 feel while the right hand is more free and lyrical. This independence is the main technical challenge. The middle section modulates up a half step to E flat major in most arrangements. Your hand positions shift and you need to be comfortable with the new key signatures before trying to play the whole thing through. This is where people usually hit a wall and quit. I'd suggest practicing the transition bars separately, four bars at a time, before attempting to connect them to the full section.
For fingering, use 1-2-3-1 on the left hand arpeggios rather than crossing your thumb constantly. It produces a cleaner sound and reduces fatigue during repeated playthroughs. The right hand melody benefits from using fingers 1-2-3 on the longer phrases, switching only when the line jumps to a higher register.
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Common Pitfalls
Here's something most tutorial videos don't mention. The chord progression is deceptively simple but it relies heavily on voice leading between the inner voices. If you just hammer out the basic triads, it will sound generic and miss the whole point of why this piece works emotionally. You need to pay attention to how the third of each chord resolves. For example, in the D major section, the Fin the melody should resolve gently down to E when the chord moves to B minor. That subtle connection is what gives the music its wistful quality. Another issue is tempo choice. Many beginners play it too fast because the opening bar looks uncomplicated. The original performance runs somewhere around 72 beats per minute for the main motif. Anything faster than that tends to make the piece sound rushed and loses the dreamy atmosphere. Slow is fine. There is no penalty for playing this carefully. There is also a practical limitation worth noting. This theme is widely available in amateur piano sheet music, but the quality varies enormously. Some publishers get the harmony wrong in the middle section or simplify the left hand pattern to the point where it no longer sounds like the piece. I recommend checking against the original soundtrack before committing to any arrangement you buy.
Where to Find the Sheet Music
You can find legitimate sheet music on sites like Musicnotes or sheetmusicplus. Look for the Easy Piano or Piano/Vocal/Guitar versions depending on your skill level. The original Hurwitz arrangement tends to be more accurate than simplified fan transcriptions. Expect to pay between five and twelve dollars for a proper licensed arrangement. There are free versions circulating online but most have transcription errors in the key changes. If you're not ready for the full version, start with the easy piano arrangement and work your way up once you have the main theme memorized. The piece is short enough that you can learn the core melody in a single practice session if you focus on the left hand pattern first.
