Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Candle flicker
Two low chord notes flicker back and forth, warm like candlelight. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 3-1.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Candle flicker 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.
Two-note ostinato: Two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
Songs with Candle flicker
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Candle flicker, from verse to chorus.
More twinkles & ticks
All patternsQuestions about Candle flicker
What is Candle flicker on piano?
Two low chord notes flicker back and forth, warm like candlelight. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 3-1, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
How do I play two-note ostinato 3-1 with the right hand?
Over C major it is E4 (3), then C4 (1), then E4 (3), then C4 (1), then E4 (3), then C4 (1), 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 Candle flicker?
It is heard in 100 songs of the library, as the main groove of 4 songs, such as Blank Space, Boss Of Me, I Am The Walrus, Buenos Aires.
Is Candle flicker easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 112 beats a minute.