Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Happy wiggle
Root, fifth, a step up and back: a cheerful bluesy wiggle. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5-6-5.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Happy wiggle 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 Happy wiggle
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Happy wiggle, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Happy wiggle
What is Happy wiggle on piano?
Root, fifth, a step up and back: a cheerful bluesy wiggle. Musicians call it broken chord 1-5-6-5, one of the broken chord patterns: the chord, one note at a time, close together.
How do I play broken chord 1-5-6-5 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (2), then A3 (1), then G3 (2); 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 Happy wiggle?
It is heard in 165 songs of the library, as the main groove of 34 songs, such as Over The Rainbow, I Have Dreamed, The Very Thought Of You, Little April Shower.
Is Happy wiggle easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.