Left-hand pattern · Rock drive
Giant steps
A full chord on every beat, low and heavy, like a giant walking. Musicians call it left-hand chords.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Giant steps 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.
Left-hand chords: Small left-hand chords pushing the beat.
Songs with Giant steps
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Giant steps, from verse to chorus.
More rock & boogie
All patternsQuestions about Giant steps
What is Giant steps on piano?
A full chord on every beat, low and heavy, like a giant walking. Musicians call it left-hand chords, one of the left-hand chords patterns: small left-hand chords pushing the beat.
How do I play lh chords with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5) + G3 (2) + C4 (1), then G3 (2) + C4 (1), then G3 (2) + C4 (1), then G3 (2) + 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 Giant steps?
It is heard in thousands of songs of the library, as the main groove of 404 songs, such as What A Wonderful World, Defying Gravity (from the Broadway Musical Wicked), For Once In My Life, Hello Again.
Is Giant steps easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.