Honestly, the first time you hear that simple, walking bassline on the keys, you know exactly what it is. It’s haunting. It’s hopeful. It’s also kind of a lie, but a beautiful one. When Justin Hurwitz sat down to compose the piano music for City of Stars, he wasn't just trying to write a catchy tune for Ryan Gosling to whistle on a pier. He was trying to capture the specific, heartbreaking friction of Los Angeles—that weird mix of "maybe I'll be a star" and "I can't pay my rent."
The song didn't just win an Oscar because it was pretty. It won because it feels like a real person sitting at a real piano, late at night, trying to figure their life out. If you’ve ever tried to play it yourself, you know it's not about virtuosity. It’s about the space between the notes.
The Secret Sauce of the City of Stars Composition
Most movie themes are overproduced. They've got eighty violins screaming at you to feel something. But the piano music for City of Stars is naked. Hurwitz, who was actually roommates with director Damien Chazzelle at Harvard, understood that the piano needed to sound like a character, not just background noise.
The song is built on a very specific harmonic language. It’s in F# minor, which is already a bit of a "sad" key, but it leans heavily on those major seventh chords that give it a jazzy, sophisticated, yet longing vibe. When you play that opening riff—the F#, the G#, the A—it feels like someone climbing a ladder and then sliding back down. It’s the musical equivalent of a sigh.
Interestingly, Hurwitz has mentioned in interviews that he went through dozens of demos for this specific track. He wanted something that felt like it could have been written in 1940 or 2016. It’s timeless because it doesn't try too hard. It stays in the middle of the keyboard. It doesn't use flashy runs. It just breathes.
Why Every Piano Student Wants to Learn It
If you go into any music shop or browse YouTube piano tutorials, "City of Stars" is everywhere. Why? Because it’s accessible.
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Unlike the frantic, bebop-influenced "Mia and Sebastian’s Theme" (which is actually quite difficult because of those fast arpeggios), the piano music for City of Stars is something a late-beginner or intermediate player can actually grasp. The left hand does a lot of the heavy lifting with a steady, rhythmic "walking" pattern. This mimics the feeling of walking down the street, which is exactly what Sebastian is doing when he first sings it.
- The rhythm is "swung." If you play it straight, it sounds like a nursery rhyme. You have to give it that "da-da, da-da" jazz feel.
- The dynamics are everything. You can't just bash the keys. It needs to be piano (quiet) but with enough weight to feel the melancholoy.
- The rubato. That’s just a fancy music term for "stealing time." You have to slow down and speed up based on the emotion of the phrase.
Ryan Gosling Actually Played This
This is the part that usually blows people’s minds. There wasn’t a hand double. When you see Sebastian’s fingers moving on the screen, those are Ryan Gosling’s hands.
He practiced for two hours a day, six days a week, for three months. That’s dedication. John Legend, who is a phenomenal pianist and was also in the film, reportedly said he was jealous of how quickly Gosling picked it up. This adds a layer of authenticity to the piano music for City of Stars that most films lack. You can see the slight hesitation in his fingers, the way he leans into the keys—it’s the performance of a man who loves jazz, not a stunt performer.
Because Gosling was actually playing, the production could use long takes. They didn't have to cut away to a professional's hands every three seconds. This makes the music feel more intimate. It’s just a guy at a piano.
The Lyrics vs. The Melody
We’re talking about the piano here, but you can’t ignore how the melody interacts with the lyrics. Pasek and Paul, the lyricists, wrote lines like "A look in somebody's eyes to light up the skies." On paper, that’s almost cheesy. But when paired with that specific piano melody, it becomes bittersweet.
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The piano provides the "reality," while the lyrics provide the "dream." The contrast is what makes it work. The melody keeps dropping back down to the tonic note, grounding the lofty aspirations of the words. It’s like saying, "Yeah, I want to be a star, but I'm still sitting in this dark room."
Technical Breakdown for the Nerds
If you’re looking to analyze the piano music for City of Stars from a theory perspective, look at the bridge. The shift in energy when it moves into the "Saturday night" section is vital. The harmony gets a bit more "crowded."
The song uses a lot of ii-V-I progressions, which are the bread and butter of jazz. But it simplifies them. It strips away the complex extensions (like 13ths or altered chords) to keep it sounding folk-like. It’s "Jazz Lite" in the best way possible—it respects the tradition without being exclusionary to the average listener.
- The Key: F# Minor / A Major.
- The Tempo: Roughly 100-110 BPM, but it’s flexible.
- The Texture: Homophonic. The right hand plays the melody while the left hand provides the harmonic and rhythmic foundation.
Common Misconceptions
People often think "City of Stars" is the main theme of the movie. Technically, "Mia and Sebastian’s Theme" (the one he plays when they first meet in the restaurant) is the "Epilogue" theme. But "City of Stars" became the cultural shorthand for the film.
Another thing? People think it’s a happy song. Listen to the piano ending. It doesn't end on a big, triumphant chord. It fades. It lingers. It’s a song about the search for something, not the finding of it. If you play it like a victory march, you’re doing it wrong. It’s a song about the "maybe."
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Getting the Right Sound at Home
If you’re trying to recreate this at home on your own keyboard or grand piano, stop using the sustain pedal so much.
Seriously.
A lot of people drown the piano music for City of Stars in reverb and pedal because they think it makes it sound "dreamy." It doesn't. It makes it sound muddy. The original recording has a very "dry" sound. You can hear the felt of the hammers hitting the strings. You want it to sound like a small upright piano in a dusty apartment.
If you have a digital piano, look for an "Upright" or "Mellow" setting rather than a "Concert Grand." The imperfections are what make it beautiful.
Actionable Next Steps for Enthusiasts
To truly master or appreciate this piece, move beyond just listening to the soundtrack version. Here is how to actually engage with the music:
- Analyze the Sheet Music: Look for the official transcriptions by Justin Hurwitz. Avoid the "Easy Piano" versions if you can help it, as they often strip out the essential walking bassline that defines the song’s character.
- Practice the Left Hand Alone: The magic of this song is in the rhythm. Spend ten minutes just playing the left-hand chords until you can do it without looking. This allows your right hand to be more expressive and "vocal" with the melody.
- Watch the "Planetarium" Scene: Compare the piano work in "City of Stars" to the orchestral swells in "Planetarium." It helps you understand how Hurwitz uses the piano as a tool for intimacy versus the orchestra for fantasy.
- Record Yourself: Because this song relies so heavily on "feel" and rubato, you might think you're being expressive when you're actually just playing out of time. Record a take, listen back, and see if you’re actually capturing that "late-night L.A." vibe.
The piano music for City of Stars isn't just a piece of film score; it’s a masterclass in how simplicity can carry more emotional weight than a thousand-piece orchestra ever could. It’s about the truth of the instrument.