Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Starlight twinkle
A chord, then two high notes twinkling like distant stars. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 10-8.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Starlight twinkle 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.
Two-note ostinato: Two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
Songs with Starlight twinkle
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Starlight twinkle, from verse to chorus.
More twinkles & ticks
All patternsQuestions about Starlight twinkle
What is Starlight twinkle on piano?
A chord, then two high notes twinkling like distant stars. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 10-8, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
How do I play two-note ostinato 10-8 with the right hand?
Over C major it is G4 (1) + E5 (5), then C5 (3), then E5 (5), then C5 (3), then E5 (5), then C5 (3), 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 Starlight twinkle?
It is heard in 50 songs of the library, such as The Song That Goes Like This (from Monty Python's Spamalot), All I Know, Coat Of Many Colors, Bad Things.
Is Starlight twinkle easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.