Super Simple Chords

Right-hand pattern · Dreamy ballad

Woodblock taps

Starting off the beat, the top note taps away, then drops at the end. Musicians call it repeated octave → 5th.

Right handMedium4/4About 126 BPMIn 21 songs
Tuning the piano…
Played over

Want to mix it with other hands?

How Woodblock 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 Woodblock taps

Each one opens with this pattern in its player.

More twinkles & ticks

All patterns

Questions about Woodblock taps

What is Woodblock taps on piano?

Starting off the beat, the top note taps away, then drops at the end. Musicians call it repeated octave → 5th, one of the two-note ostinato patterns: two notes rocking back and forth in the right hand.

How do I play repeated octave → 5th with the right hand?

Over C major it is C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), then C5 (4), then G4 (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 Woodblock taps?

It is heard in 21 songs of the library, such as Dancing Through Life, Money On My Mind, Fernweh, It Gets Better.

Is Woodblock taps easy?

It is a medium pattern, in 4/4, usually around 126 beats a minute.