Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Swinging star
A high note and a lower one swing back and forth in quick notes. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 10-5.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Swinging star 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 Swinging star
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Swinging star, from verse to chorus.
More twinkles & ticks
All patternsQuestions about Swinging star
What is Swinging star on piano?
A high note and a lower one swing back and forth in quick notes. Musicians call it two-note ostinato 10-5, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
How do I play two-note ostinato 10-5 with the right hand?
Over C major it is E5 (5), then G4 (1), then E5 (5), then G4 (1), then E5 (5), then G4 (1), 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 Swinging star?
It is heard in 19 songs of the library, such as Baby, It's Cold Outside, Catch Me If You Can, I Believe, Majesty.
Is Swinging star easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.