Left-hand pattern · Pop heartbeat
Full ladder up
Four steps up from the fifth, arriving right on the next root. Musicians call it walk-up 5-6-7-8.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Full ladder up 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 Full ladder up
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Full ladder up, from verse to chorus.
More walks & steps
All patternsQuestions about Full ladder up
What is Full ladder up on piano?
Four steps up from the fifth, arriving right on the next root. Musicians call it walk-up 5-6-7-8, one of the walk-up patterns: step by step up into the next chord.
How do I play walk-up 5-6-7-8 with the left hand?
Over C major it is G3 (5), then A3 (4), 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 Full ladder up?
It is heard in 41 songs of the library, such as A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Mr. Blue Sky, Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Is Full ladder up easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 124 beats a minute.