Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Stepping-down taps
A late start, three taps on one note, then three on a lower one. Musicians call it repeated 5th → 3rd.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Stepping-down taps 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 Stepping-down taps
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
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All patternsQuestions about Stepping-down taps
What is Stepping-down taps on piano?
A late start, three taps on one note, then three on a lower one. Musicians call it repeated 5th → 3rd, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
How do I play repeated 5th → 3rd with the right hand?
Over C major it is G4 (3), then G4 (3), then G4 (3), then E4 (1), then E4 (1), then E4 (1); 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 Stepping-down taps?
It is heard in 24 songs of the library, as the main groove of 2 songs, such as 'twas The Night Before Christmas, That Lucky Old Sun, Better Is One Day, Crying In The Rain.
Is Stepping-down taps easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.