Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Breaking wave
Four notes roll up quickly to a bright high top, then let it ring. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-8-10.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Breaking wave 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.
Open arpeggio: The left hand rolls up through the chord and back, like a wave.
Songs with Breaking wave
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Breaking wave, from verse to chorus.
More waves
All patternsQuestions about Breaking wave
What is Breaking wave on piano?
Four notes roll up quickly to a bright high top, then let it ring. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-8-10, one of the open arpeggio patterns: the left hand rolls up through the chord and back, like a wave.
How do I play open arpeggio 1-5-8-10 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (2), then C4 (1), then E4 (2); 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 Breaking wave?
It is heard in 162 songs of the library, as the main groove of 18 songs, such as Fernando, Woman, Hedwig’s Lament, How Great Are You Lord.
Is Breaking wave easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 99 beats a minute.