Left-hand pattern · Pop heartbeat
Almost-there stairs
Steps up from the fifth and waits just below the next root. Musicians call it walk-up 5-6-7-7.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Almost-there stairs goes
One bar over a C chord: a row for each key, a column for each step, the finger on each note. Over another chord, move the same shape to its root.
Walk-up: Step by step up into the next chord.
Songs with Almost-there stairs
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Almost-there stairs, from verse to chorus.
More walks & steps
All patternsQuestions about Almost-there stairs
What is Almost-there stairs on piano?
Steps up from the fifth and waits just below the next root. Musicians call it walk-up 5-6-7-7, one of the walk-up patterns: step by step up into the next chord.
How do I play walk-up 5-6-7-7 with the left hand?
Over C major it is G3 (5), then A3 (4), then B3 (1), then B3 (1); the number after each note is the finger (1 is the thumb). Over any other chord, move the same shape to that chord's root.
What songs use Almost-there stairs?
It is heard in 26 songs of the library, such as So What, Gimme Gimme, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, Boom Boom.
Is Almost-there stairs easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 132 beats a minute.