Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad
Telegraph taps
One note tapping like a telegraph, then slipping a step down. Musicians call it repeated octave → 7th.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Telegraph 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 Telegraph taps
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Telegraph taps, from verse to chorus.
More twinkles & ticks
All patternsQuestions about Telegraph taps
What is Telegraph taps on piano?
One note tapping like a telegraph, then slipping a step down. Musicians call it repeated octave → 7th, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.
How do I play repeated octave → 7th with the right hand?
Over C major it is B4 (1) + C5 (3), then C5 (3), then C5 (3), then C5 (3), then C5 (3), then B4 (1) + B4 (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 Telegraph taps?
It is heard in 39 songs of the library, such as Dancing In The Street, All I Ever Wanted, California Dreamin’, Come Back When You Grow Up.
Is Telegraph taps easy?
It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 126 beats a minute.