Piano Lesson 5 – Rhythm & Left Hand Patterns
Great progress! 👏 Let’s go into Lesson 5.
🎼 Piano Lesson 5 – Rhythm & Left Hand Patterns
So far you learned:
- Lesson 1 → Right-hand exercise (C–G)
- Lesson 2 → Left hand + hands together
- Lesson 3 → First song (Mary Had a Little Lamb)
- Lesson 4 → Left hand chords with melody
Now, in Lesson 5, we’ll make your playing sound more “musical” by adding left-hand patterns instead of just holding block chords.
1. The Broken Chord (Arpeggio Style)
Instead of playing the whole chord at once, break it into notes.
Example with C chord (C–E–G):
- Play C (low note) first with finger 5.
- Then play E (3) and G (1) one after the other.
This creates a flowing sound:
C → E → G → E → (repeat)
2. Waltz Style (3/4 Time)
Another common left-hand pattern:
- Play the chord’s root (low note) on beat 1.
- Play the other two notes together on beats 2 & 3.
Example in C chord:
Beat 1 → C (low note)
Beat 2 → E+G (together)
Beat 3 → E+G (together)
Count: 1 – 2 – 3, 1 – 2 – 3...
3. Apply to a Song
Take Mary Had a Little Lamb again:
- Right hand → melody
- Left hand → broken chord or waltz pattern with C and G chords
4. Practice Exercise
Try both styles with C chord only:
- Broken chord style (flowing arpeggio)
- Waltz style (oom–pa–pa rhythm)
Then, apply it to simple songs.
✅ Practice Goal for Lesson 5
- Play a song (Mary Had a Little Lamb or similar) with right-hand melody and left-hand patterns.
- Keep your rhythm steady (count out loud if needed).
👉 In Lesson 6, we’ll start learning about scales (C major scale full octave, both hands).
Do you want me to also make a Lesson 5 sheet music PDF showing the left-hand broken chord pattern with the melody, so you can read it like real piano notation?
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