Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Rolling waves
Rolls up to the high third and back down, like a wave on the shore. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Rolling waves 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.
Open arpeggio: The left hand rolls up through the chord and back, like a wave.
Songs with Rolling waves
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Rolling waves, from verse to chorus.
More waves
All patternsQuestions about Rolling waves
What is Rolling waves on piano?
Rolls up to the high third and back down, like a wave on the shore. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, one of the open arpeggio patterns: the left hand rolls up through the chord and back, like a wave.
How do I play open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (1), then E4 (2), then G3 (1), then C3 (5), then G3 (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 Rolling waves?
It is heard in 545 songs of the library, as the main groove of 101 songs, such as Just The Way You Are, Your Song, Candle In The Wind, Daniel.
Is Rolling waves easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.