Left-hand pattern · Lullaby boat
Carousel
Boom-chick-chick, boom-chick-chick: round and round like a carousel. Musicians call it waltz 6/8 oom-pah.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Carousel 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.
Waltz: Boom, chick, chick: one strong beat and two light ones.
Songs with Carousel
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Carousel, from verse to chorus.
More bounce & stride
All patternsQuestions about Carousel
What is Carousel on piano?
Boom-chick-chick, boom-chick-chick: round and round like a carousel. Musicians call it waltz 6/8 oom-pah, one of the waltz patterns: boom, chick, chick: one strong beat and two light ones.
How do I play waltz 6/8 oom-pah with the left hand?
Over C major it is C4 (3), then E4 (2) + G4 (1), then E4 (2) + G4 (1), then G3 (5), then E4 (2) + G4 (1), then E4 (2) + G4 (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 Carousel?
It is heard in 26 songs of the library, as the main groove of 17 songs, such as Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op.9, No.2, Could You (from Little Women: The Musical), Everyone Knows Juanita, Final Showdown.
Is Carousel easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 6/8, usually around 99 beats a minute.