Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Busy rocking
A low root, then quick notes rocking between two higher keys. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Busy rocking 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.
Broken chord: The chord, one note at a time, close together.
Songs with Busy rocking
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Busy rocking, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Busy rocking
What is Busy rocking on piano?
A low root, then quick notes rocking between two higher keys. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5, one of the broken chord patterns: the chord, one note at a time, close together.
How do I play broken chord 1-5 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (2), then C4 (1), then G3 (2), then C4 (1), then G3 (2), and so on; 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 Busy rocking?
It is heard in 200 songs of the library, as the main groove of 54 songs, such as Viva La Vida, Lovely, Falling Slowly, All I Ask.
Is Busy rocking easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 96 beats a minute.