Right-hand pattern · Old-time stride
Marching clock
One note ticking evenly in a short two-beat bar, like a toy march. Musicians call it repeated-note pulse (2/4).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Marching clock 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.
Repeated-note pulse: One note repeating like a ticking clock. In 4/4 it is played twice a bar.
Songs with Marching clock
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Marching clock, from verse to chorus.
More twinkles & ticks
All patternsQuestions about Marching clock
What is Marching clock on piano?
One note ticking evenly in a short two-beat bar, like a toy march. Musicians call it repeated-note pulse (2/4), one of the repeated-note pulse patterns: one note repeating like a ticking clock.
How do I play repeated-note pulse (2/4) with the right hand?
Over C major it is C4 (1), then C4 (1), then C4 (1), then C4 (1), then C4 (1), then C4 (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 Marching clock?
It is heard in 37 songs of the library, as the main groove of 3 songs, such as Master Of The House, Angel Down (Work Tape), Baa Baa Black Sheep, Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?.
Is Marching clock easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 2/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.