Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Shimmering waves
A low root, then two notes rocking fast like light on water. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Shimmering 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 Shimmering waves
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Shimmering waves, from verse to chorus.
More waves
All patternsQuestions about Shimmering waves
What is Shimmering waves on piano?
A low root, then two notes rocking fast like light on water. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5, 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 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then G3 (2), then E4 (1), then G3 (2), then E4 (1), then G3 (2), 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 Shimmering waves?
It is heard in 58 songs of the library, as the main groove of 13 songs, such as Ballade Pour Adeline, Writing's On The Wall, The Lonely, Pie Jesu.
Is Shimmering waves easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 96 beats a minute.