Left-hand pattern · Pop heartbeat
Tumbling heartbeat
Quick notes tumble forward from the start and land on beat 4. Musicians call it root bass on beats 1, 1a, 2&, 3&, 4.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Tumbling heartbeat 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.
Root bass rhythm: Just the lowest note, played in a rhythm you can dance to.
Songs with Tumbling heartbeat
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Tumbling heartbeat, from verse to chorus.
More heartbeats
All patternsQuestions about Tumbling heartbeat
What is Tumbling heartbeat on piano?
Quick notes tumble forward from the start and land on beat 4. Musicians call it root bass on beats 1, 1a, 2&, 3&, 4, one of the root bass rhythm patterns: just the lowest note, played in a rhythm you can dance to.
How do I play root bass · 1 · 1a · 2& · 3& · 4 with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C3 (5), then C4 (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 Tumbling heartbeat?
It is heard in 112 songs of the library, as the main groove of 35 songs, such as Love Me Like You Do, Ironic, Let Everything That Has Breath, I Want Candy.
Is Tumbling heartbeat easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.