Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Rock’n’roll climb
Up three chord notes and one step past: the 1950s rock’n’roll climb. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-6.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Rock’n’roll climb 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 Rock’n’roll climb
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Rock’n’roll climb, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Rock’n’roll climb
What is Rock’n’roll climb on piano?
Up three chord notes and one step past: the 1950s rock’n’roll climb. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-6, one of the broken chord patterns: the chord, one note at a time, close together.
How do I play broken chord 1-3-5-6 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then E3 (3), then G3 (2), then A3 (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 Rock’n’roll climb?
It is heard in 204 songs of the library, as the main groove of 25 songs, such as All Shook Up, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Kansas City, A Big Hunk O’ Love.
Is Rock’n’roll climb easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.