Left-hand pattern · Waltz garden
Waltz climb
Three notes up the chord, one per beat: a gentle waltz climb. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5 (3/4).
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How Waltz climb 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 Waltz climb
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Waltz climb, from verse to chorus.
More ripples
All patternsQuestions about Waltz climb
What is Waltz climb on piano?
Three notes up the chord, one per beat: a gentle waltz climb. Musicians call it broken chord 1-3-5 (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 (3/4) with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then E3 (3), then G3 (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 Waltz climb?
It is heard in 248 songs of the library, as the main groove of 28 songs, such as Open Arms, Come Away With Me, Minuet In G, Op. 10, No. 2, Prelude In C Major, BMV 943.
Is Waltz climb easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 3/4, usually around 120 beats a minute.