Left-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Slide-home stairs
From the fifth, a skip and two steps all the way down home. Musicians call it walk-down 5-3-2-1.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Slide-home stairs 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.
Walk-down: Step by step down into the next chord.
Songs with Slide-home stairs
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Slide-home stairs, from verse to chorus.
More walks & steps
All patternsQuestions about Slide-home stairs
What is Slide-home stairs on piano?
From the fifth, a skip and two steps all the way down home. Musicians call it walk-down 5-3-2-1, one of the walk-down patterns: step by step down into the next chord.
How do I play walk-down 5-3-2-1 with the left hand?
Over C major it is G3 (1), then E3 (2), then D3 (4), 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 Slide-home stairs?
It is heard in 27 songs of the library, such as Frosty The Snow Man, Amigos Para Siempre, It’s A Small World, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (from Mary Poppins).
Is Slide-home stairs easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 126 beats a minute.