Left-hand pattern · Old-time stride
Ragtime bounce
Quick bass-chord-bass-chord: the bouncy left hand of ragtime. Musicians call it boom-chick (2/4).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Ragtime bounce 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 Ragtime bounce
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Ragtime bounce, from verse to chorus.
More bounce & stride
All patternsQuestions about Ragtime bounce
What is Ragtime bounce on piano?
Quick bass-chord-bass-chord: the bouncy left hand of ragtime. Musicians call it boom-chick (2/4), one of the stride & boom-chick patterns: a deep bass note, then a chord. the left hand jumps.
How do I play boom-chick (2/4) with the left hand?
Over C major it is C4 (3), then E4 (2) + G4 (1), then G3 (5), then E4 (2) + G4 (1), then C4 (3), then E4 (2) + G4 (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 Ragtime bounce?
It is heard in 137 songs of the library, as the main groove of 83 songs, such as The Entertainer, Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, El Choclo, No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus.
Is Ragtime bounce easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 2/4, usually around 78 beats a minute.