Left-hand pattern · Film & wonder
Rocket sweep
Climbs two octaves in two big leaps, soaring like a rocket. Musicians call it wide arpeggio 1-5-8-8-12-15.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Rocket sweep 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.
Wide arpeggio: A big sweep over two octaves: the film-score sound.
Songs with Rocket sweep
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Rocket sweep, from verse to chorus.
More waves
All patternsQuestions about Rocket sweep
What is Rocket sweep on piano?
Climbs two octaves in two big leaps, soaring like a rocket. Musicians call it wide arpeggio 1-5-8-8-12-15, one of the wide arpeggio patterns: a big sweep over two octaves: the film-score sound.
How do I play wide arpeggio 1-5-8-8-12-15 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (2), then C4 (1), then C4 (5), then G4 (2), then C5 (1); 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 Rocket sweep?
It is heard in 140 songs of the library, as the main groove of 11 songs, such as Blue Moon, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Down By The Salley Gardens, A Note From Grandma.
Is Rocket sweep easy?
It is a tricky pattern, in 4/4, usually around 90 beats a minute.