Right-hand pattern · Film & wonder
Hailstones
The top note rattles in very quick bursts, like hail on a window. Musicians call it repeated octave.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Hailstones 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 figure: A right-hand figure circling the chord.
Songs with Hailstones
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Hailstones, from verse to chorus.
More sparkling figures
All patternsQuestions about Hailstones
What is Hailstones on piano?
The top note rattles in very quick bursts, like hail on a window. Musicians call it repeated octave, one of the broken-chord figure patterns: a right-hand figure circling the chord.
How do I play repeated octave with the right hand?
Over C major it is C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), and so on; 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 Hailstones?
It is heard in 24 songs of the library, such as Let It Go, Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, We Can’t Stop, 99 Red Balloons.
Is Hailstones easy?
It is a tricky pattern, in 4/4, usually around 96 beats a minute.