Right-hand pattern · Film & wonder
Pinwheel
Three notes spin in a loop that keeps landing in new places. Musicians call it broken-chord ostinato 5-1-3.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Pinwheel 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 Pinwheel
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Pinwheel, from verse to chorus.
More sparkling figures
All patternsQuestions about Pinwheel
What is Pinwheel on piano?
Three notes spin in a loop that keeps landing in new places. Musicians call it broken-chord ostinato 5-1-3, one of the broken-chord figure patterns: a right-hand figure circling the chord.
How do I play broken-chord ostinato 5-1-3 with the right hand?
Over C major it is G4 (5), then C4 (1), then E4 (3), then G4 (5), then C4 (1), then E4 (3), 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 Pinwheel?
It is heard in 19 songs of the library, as the main groove of 1 song, such as Angels We Have Heard on High, I Turn To You, New Moon, Tico Tico.
Is Pinwheel easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.