Okay, so I’ve been obsessed with Cody Rhodes’ entrance theme, “Kingdom,” lately. It’s just so epic and gets you pumped up! I decided I needed to figure out how to play it, at least the main melody, on my keyboard. So here’s how that went down.
The Hunt for Sheet Music (or Something Like It)
First, I went on a hunt. I’m not a pro musician or anything, so I figured sheet music would be the easiest route. I searched around, but honestly, finding really good, accurate sheet music for free is tough. Most of what I found was either behind a paywall, looked super complicated, or just didn’t sound quite right when I tried playing the little preview snippets.
I ended up spending way too much time messing around with a bunch of so so quality online sheet music. This was not productive at all.
Ear Training to the Rescue (Sort Of)
Since the sheet music hunt was a bit of a bust, I figured I’d try to pick out the melody by ear. I’ve done this before with simple songs, but “Kingdom” is a bit more layered. I put on the song and just started messing around on my keyboard, trying to find the right notes.
It was slow going. I’d play a few notes, listen back to the song, play a few more, listen back… lots of back and forth. I mostly focused on the main vocal melody during the chorus, since that seemed like the most recognizable part.
Breaking It Down
Here’s what I figured out, in super basic terms (again, not a musician!):
- The main part of the chorus seems to revolve around a few key notes. I started with a simple pattern, playing a few notes up, then back down. It’s not perfect, but it’s something!
- The intro bit is a little trickier. It has that cool, almost haunting sound. I haven’t quite nailed that down yet, but I think it uses some chords that are a bit beyond my current skill level.
- I kept it simple. I’m not trying to play the whole song with all the instruments and layers. I just wanted the basic melody, so I could hum along and feel like a wrestling superstar in my living room.
The Results (and Future Attempts)
So, did I become a concert pianist overnight? Absolutely not. But I can now play a simplified version of the “Kingdom” melody, and that’s good enough for me! It’s definitely a work in progress. My next steps are probably to:
- Try to find some tutorials that might break down the chords a bit better.
- Keep practicing by ear, maybe trying to figure out more of the intro.
- Maybe, just maybe, look into some actual paid sheet music if I get really ambitious.
It was a fun little project, and honestly, even just playing a few notes of that song makes me feel energized. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go practice some more and maybe pretend I’m walking down the ramp to a roaring crowd…
