Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Cuckoo clock
High, high, a little lower, twice per bar: cuckoo, cuckoo. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 8-8-6.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Cuckoo clock 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 Cuckoo clock
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Cuckoo clock, from verse to chorus.
More twinkles & ticks
All patternsQuestions about Cuckoo clock
What is Cuckoo clock on piano?
High, high, a little lower, twice per bar: cuckoo, cuckoo. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 8-8-6, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
How do I play two-note ostinato 8-8-6 with the right hand?
Over C major it is C5 (3), then C5 (3), then A4 (1), then C5 (3), then C5 (3), then A4 (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 Cuckoo clock?
It is heard in 17 songs of the library, such as The First Time, Auf Uns, Dog Days Are Over, Drip Drop.
Is Cuckoo clock easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 132 beats a minute.