Left-hand pattern · Waltz garden
Swan glide
Up the chord, then rocking between two notes: a smooth, gliding waltz. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-3-5-3 (3/4).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Swan glide 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.
Broken chord: The chord, one note at a time, close together.
Songs with Swan glide
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Swan glide, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Swan glide
What is Swan glide on piano?
Up the chord, then rocking between two notes: a smooth, gliding waltz. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5-3-5-3 (3/4), one of the broken chord patterns: the chord, one note at a time, close together.
How do I play broken chord 1-3-5-3-5-3 (3/4) with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then E3 (3), then G3 (1), then E3 (3), then G3 (1), then E3 (3); 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 Swan glide?
It is heard in 28 songs of the library, as the main groove of 11 songs, such as For Those Tears I Died, Maybe, There’s Something About That Name, What Child Is This?.
Is Swan glide easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 3/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.