Left-hand pattern · Old-time stride
Kangaroo leaps
Bass, high chord, bass, high chord, fast: the hand leaps like a kangaroo. Musicians call it stride (2/4).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Kangaroo leaps 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.
Stride & boom-chick: A deep bass note, then a chord. The left hand jumps. In 4/4 it is played twice a bar.
Songs with Kangaroo leaps
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Kangaroo leaps, from verse to chorus.
More bounce & stride
All patternsQuestions about Kangaroo leaps
What is Kangaroo leaps on piano?
Bass, high chord, bass, high chord, fast: the hand leaps like a kangaroo. Musicians call it stride (2/4), one of the stride & boom-chick patterns: a deep bass note, then a chord. the left hand jumps.
How do I play stride (2/4) with the left hand?
Over C major it is C4 (2), then G4 (5) + C5 (2) + E5 (1), then G3 (5), then G4 (5) + C5 (2) + E5 (1), then C4 (2), then G4 (5) + C5 (2) + E5 (1), 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 Kangaroo leaps?
It is heard in 107 songs of the library, as the main groove of 74 songs, such as Maple Leaf Rag, I Got Rhythm, When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder, Away In A Manger.
Is Kangaroo leaps easy?
It is a tricky pattern, in 2/4, usually around 68 beats a minute.