Left-hand pattern · Pop heartbeat
Pop heartbeat
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass, charleston push (1, 2&, 3).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Pop heartbeat 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.
Root bass rhythm: Just the lowest note, played in a rhythm you can dance to.
Songs with Pop heartbeat
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Pop heartbeat, from verse to chorus.
More heartbeats
All patternsQuestions about Pop heartbeat
What is Pop heartbeat on piano?
Long, short, long: the heartbeat under a thousand pop songs. Musicians call it root bass, charleston push (1, 2&, 3), one of the root bass rhythm patterns: just the lowest note, played in a rhythm you can dance to.
How do I play root bass · charleston push (1 · 2& · 3) with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5); 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 Pop heartbeat?
It is heard in thousands of songs of the library, as the main groove of 982 songs, such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Africa, Time, Careless Whisper.
Is Pop heartbeat easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.