Left-hand pattern · Slow dance ’50s
Slow-dance heartbeat
Four slow, deep beats under a swaying fifties ballad. Musicians call it root bass on beats 1, 2, 3, 4 (12/8).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Slow-dance heartbeat 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 Slow-dance heartbeat
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Slow-dance heartbeat, from verse to chorus.
More heartbeats
All patternsQuestions about Slow-dance heartbeat
What is Slow-dance heartbeat on piano?
Four slow, deep beats under a swaying fifties ballad. Musicians call it root bass on beats 1, 2, 3, 4 (12/8), 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 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 (12/8) with the left hand?
Over C major it is 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 Slow-dance heartbeat?
It is heard in 134 songs of the library, as the main groove of 49 songs, such as She’s Always A Woman, He's A Pirate (from Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl), Higher Ground, Purpose.
Is Slow-dance heartbeat easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 12/8, usually around 117 beats a minute.