How to Play Like Gibran Alcocer - Ideas explained.

Gibran Alcocer's Idea 10 has over a billion streams. It's a piano piece. When I first heard it, I fell in love with it and play it on repeat.

Hmm.. so what do other ideas sound like, and what exactly makes his music so poignant. I also needed an excuse to listen to all his pieces, so here we go. A short summary of all ideas, what scales he uses, chord changes, and how to do that for guitar and pretty much any instrument. You're welcome!

Skip to what you need

• Who is Gibran Alcocer?
• I listened to Ideas and here's a rough summary
• Inner Gibran. Inner Gibrann.. Find your inner Gibran! (imagine Shifu saying it)
• Rule 1: You must use 4 chords.
• Rule 2: 4-chords in 3/4.
• Rule 3: Play single notes, not block chords
• Rule 4: Simple melody on top
• Rule 5: Learn his songs & steal his ideas.
• Minor scale, G natural minor
• So what chords? Stick to i - v - VII - VI
• In G minor (no capo):
• In A minor (capo 3rd fret - sounds in C minor):
• In E minor (capo 2nd fret - sounds in F♯ minor):
• Where his sound comes from?
• FAQs
• Footnotes

Who is Gibran Alcocer?

Gibran Alcocer is a pianist and composer from Yucatán, Mexico. He studied classical piano and jazz before writing short, minimalist piano sketches he calls "Ideas." Idea 10 is a beautiful 3-minute piece. You've probably heard it already. That's why you're here!

His ideas are short and moving. I wouldn't call it classical or neoclassical, perhaps pop piano/ indie. There's nothing complex about it. No modulations, no shreddy passages, still, and perhaps because they're simple- serene. I don't say that to hate on him; I absolutely love his aesthetic. It sounds like many existing players - read below if that's interesting to you.

I listened to Ideas and here's a rough summary

My favorite? I like Idea 10. I could close my eyes and listen to that forever.

Inner Gibran. Inner Gibrann.. Find your inner Gibran! (imagine Shifu saying it)

Rule 1: You must use 4 chords.

Keep it simple. Pick a minor key. Idea 10 is in G natural minor. Idea 22 is in A minor. As for the chords, stick to i III VI iv in your minor key, play maj7 for the VI chord; eg. Am Cmaj7 F Dm in the key of A. You can use our free chord dictionary for maj7 voicings!

Rule 2: 4-chords in 3/4.

You embrace the pop and play four chords.

Idea 10 goes:

Cm → Gm → D → Eb

That's i - v - VII - VI in key of G minor.

Idea 22 goes:

F → Am → Dm → G

That's VI - i - iv - VII in key of A minor

You can play these with basic open chords with a capo on 3rd fret.

Rule 3: Play single notes, not block chords

Arpeggios. I didn't hear block chords. You break chords into arpeggio notes; play one at a time, in sequence, in a flowing, rippling texture. Stick to maj7 and minor arpeggios.

On piano, the left hand plays a bass note followed by upper voices. On guitar, you play the bass note with thumb and pluck the upper strings.

Rule 4: Simple melody on top

Over the repeating arpeggio, Alcocer plays a melody that moves mostly by step (whole tones and semitones). Use the same minor scale. It's easy to sing, simple, memorable. It's a short motif, looping, varying over time.

On guitar, you keep the melody on B and high E strings.

Rule 5: Learn his songs & steal his ideas.

Seriously. You'll have to steal his melodies, rhythmic ideas, chords and his sense of dynamics if you want to play like him.

Don't steal his music and put it up as your own, but absolutely steal his ideas.

Minor scale, G natural minor

The scale behind Idea 10 is G natural minor.

The scale formula is: 1 - 2 - ♭3 - 4 - 5 - ♭6 - ♭7

Some of his pieces borrow from Dorian mode (raising ♭6 to a natural 6). In A Dorian, that means playing Am - D instead of Am - Dm. This gives a slightly brighter sound.

So what chords? Stick to i - v - VII - VI

Hmm.. let's talk guitar friendly keys.

In G minor (no capo):

In A minor (capo 3rd fret - sounds in C minor):

In E minor (capo 2nd fret - sounds in F♯ minor):

E minor is the easiest on guitar- all open chords except Bm (can be played as partial barre on A and D strings).

Where his sound comes from?

I hear Yann Tiersen (Iain plays it beautifully!) and Erik Satie's Gymnopédies-esque influence in his sound (esp. Idea 1). The left-hand pattern is sparse, low bass notes followed by a chord - with a floating, stepwise melody in the right. Slow tempo, modal harmony, melodies that breathe. Gibran also avoids V - I cadences, much like how Debussy used modal mixtures and avoided resolution to evoke a floating/ambiguous quality.

I consider it minimal - same four chords loop 20+ times, melody changes slightly every pass. Ludovico Einaudi has a very similar sound.

FAQs

What scale does Gibran Alcocer use? Gibran Alcocer mainly uses the natural minor scale (Aeolian mode). Idea 10 is in G natural minor, and Idea 22 is in A minor. His pieces stay in one key without modulations.

What chords does Gibran Alcocer use? His most common progression is a 4-chord loop: i - v - VII - VI in a minor key. In G minor that's Cm - Gm - D - Eb. In A minor that's Am - Em - G - F.

What tempo does Gibran Alcocer play at? Most of his viral pieces are around 80-91 BPM. The slow tempo and space between notes is a key part of the emotional sound.

Can I play Gibran Alcocer's music on guitar? Yes. His arpeggiated piano style translates directly to fingerstyle guitar. Use a T-i-m picking pattern (thumb on bass notes, index and middle on upper strings) with the melody on the high E string.

How do I compose a song like Gibran Alcocer? Pick a minor key, write a 4-chord loop (i - v - VII - VI), play it as arpeggios at 80-91 BPM, add a simple melody on top, and repeat with subtle variation. Keep it under 4 minutes.

Footnotes

1. Porz Goret is a fantastic piece by Yann Tiersen if you're looking for more like pieces like Gibran's. Talos if you want to see space and atmosphere done beautifully.

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