Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Freight-train bounce
Root, up, down low, up: the chugging bass of folk guitar songs. Musicians call it broken chord 8-10-5-10.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Freight-train bounce 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.
Broken chord: The chord, one note at a time, close together.
Songs with Freight-train bounce
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Freight-train bounce, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Freight-train bounce
What is Freight-train bounce on piano?
Root, up, down low, up: the chugging bass of folk guitar songs. Musicians call it broken chord 8-10-5-10, one of the broken chord patterns: the chord, one note at a time, close together.
How do I play broken chord 8-10-5-10 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C4 (2), then E4 (1), then G3 (5), then E4 (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 Freight-train bounce?
It is heard in 32 songs of the library, as the main groove of 9 songs, such as Dominique, Tom Dooley, Wildflowers, The Boxer.
Is Freight-train bounce easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 140 beats a minute.