Left-hand pattern · Waltz garden
Drifting waves
A low note, then a high pair drifting back and forth in three. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5-10 (3/4).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Drifting waves 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 Drifting waves
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Drifting waves, from verse to chorus.
More waves
All patternsQuestions about Drifting waves
What is Drifting waves on piano?
A low note, then a high pair drifting back and forth in three. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5-10 (3/4), 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 1-5-10-5-10 (3/4) with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (1), then E4 (2), then G3 (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 Drifting waves?
It is heard in 40 songs of the library, as the main groove of 10 songs, such as If You Go Away.
Is Drifting waves easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 3/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.