Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Rockabilly wiggle
Root, a skip down, a step down and back up: a rockabilly shake. Musicians call it broken chord 8-6-5-6.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Rockabilly wiggle 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: The chord, one note at a time, close together.
Songs with Rockabilly wiggle
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Rockabilly wiggle, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Rockabilly wiggle
What is Rockabilly wiggle on piano?
Root, a skip down, a step down and back up: a rockabilly shake. Musicians call it broken chord 8-6-5-6, one of the broken chord patterns: the chord, one note at a time, close together.
How do I play broken chord 8-6-5-6 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C4 (1), then A3 (4), then G3 (5), then A3 (4); 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 Rockabilly wiggle?
It is heard in 76 songs of the library, as the main groove of 16 songs, such as Real Wild Child, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Shake, Rattle and Roll, Blue Ridge Cabin Home.
Is Rockabilly wiggle easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 136 beats a minute.