Left-hand pattern · Lullaby boat
Rowing-boat pulse
Six even low notes per bar, rolling along like oars on water. Musicians call it root bass in 6/8 8ths.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Rowing-boat pulse 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.
Root bass rhythm: Just the lowest note, played in a rhythm you can dance to.
Songs with Rowing-boat pulse
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Rowing-boat pulse, from verse to chorus.
More heartbeats
All patternsQuestions about Rowing-boat pulse
What is Rowing-boat pulse on piano?
Six even low notes per bar, rolling along like oars on water. Musicians call it root bass in 6/8 8ths, one of the root bass rhythm patterns: just the lowest note, played in a rhythm you can dance to.
How do I play root bass · 6/8 8ths with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5); 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 Rowing-boat pulse?
It is heard in 240 songs of the library, as the main groove of 102 songs, such as Unchained Melody, Somebody To Love, Burn, Breakaway.
Is Rowing-boat pulse easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 6/8, usually around 84 beats a minute.