Right-hand pattern · Pop heartbeat
Wait-a-beat chords
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. Musicians call it block chords on beats 2, 3, 4.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Wait-a-beat chords 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.
Block chords: All the notes of the chord together, right on the beat.
Songs with Wait-a-beat chords
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Wait-a-beat chords, from verse to chorus.
More chords on the beat
All patternsQuestions about Wait-a-beat chords
What is Wait-a-beat chords on piano?
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. Musicians call it block chords on beats 2, 3, 4, one of the block chords patterns: all the notes of the chord together, right on the beat.
How do I play block chords · 2 · 3 · 4 with the right hand?
Over C major it is E4 (1) + G4 (2) + C5 (5), then E4 (1) + G4 (2) + C5 (5), then E4 (1) + G4 (2) + C5 (5); 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 Wait-a-beat chords?
It is heard in thousands of songs of the library, as the main groove of 33 songs, such as Georgia On My Mind, Sweet Caroline, This Is Me (from The Greatest Showman), Runaway (U&I).
Is Wait-a-beat chords easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.