Left-hand pattern · Pop heartbeat
Escalator
A quick run: root, a leap, then steps gliding up to the octave. Musicians call it walk-up 1-5-6-7-8.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Escalator 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.
Walk-up: Step by step up into the next chord.
Songs with Escalator
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Escalator, from verse to chorus.
More walks & steps
All patternsQuestions about Escalator
What is Escalator on piano?
A quick run: root, a leap, then steps gliding up to the octave. Musicians call it walk-up 1-5-6-7-8, one of the walk-up patterns: step by step up into the next chord.
How do I play walk-up 1-5-6-7-8 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (4), then A3 (3), then B3 (2), then C4 (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 Escalator?
It is heard in 28 songs of the library, such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Someone To Watch Over Me (from Oh, Kay!), Auld Lang Syne, Winter Wonderland.
Is Escalator easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 90 beats a minute.