Piano Rhythm Patterns Every Player Should Know

How to Play the Rhythms Below

The first thing we need to talk about is exactly what you need to play when learning and practicing these piano rhythm patterns.

We’re going to keep things pretty basic, but know there are many variations to this.

With any pattern, you’ll want to play a chord in your right hand, along with the root note of the chord in your left hand.

Using this method makes it much easier to learn and internalize the rhythms. If you try adding a melody at this stage it makes things unnecessarily difficult (or confusing).

And if you’re having trouble using both your hands at the same time, you can try working on your limb independence.

So which chords would you play? Well we need a good piano chord progression to help us out.

For this guide we’re going to use a I – V – vi – IV (1-5-6-4) progression in the key of C Major.

That means the chords we’ll play in the left hand are C Maj -> G Maj -> A min -> F Maj (in that order) along with the root notes of C -> G -> A -> F in the bass (left hand).

If you don’t know how to build those chords check out this guide on piano chords.

Finally, if you see an X in the table, it means you don’t play anything for that beat/count.

Basic Piano Rhythms

These rhythms are the most fundamental rhythms you’ll learn. They’re very basic but can still be used in very powerful ways on the piano.

You can also vary these in any way you’d like. Try experimenting with things once you’ve thoroughly learned them in their basic form.

Piano Four on the Floor

Four on the floor usually refers to a drum beat where the kick (bass) drum plays on every beat of a measure – i.e. 1-2-3-4

It works the same way on the piano. You’re going to play a chord in your right hand on every beat of the measure, and the root note in your left hand on only the first beat of the measure. You’ll change the chord to the next one in the progression every measure.

If you’re using a 4 chord progression (like we are), the pattern lasts for 4 measures before starting again.

Here’s what it looks like:

	Measure 1	Measure 2	Measure 3	Measure 4
Beat Count	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj – C Maj – C Maj – C Maj	G Maj – G Maj – G Maj – G Maj	A min – A min – A min – A min	F Maj – F Maj – F Maj – F Maj
Left Hand (root note)	C – X – X – X	G – X – X – X	A – X – X – X	F – X – X – X

There are a couple ways you can play this basic piano rhythm pattern:

1. Play the root/bass note on beat 1 without holding it down to sustain across the measure
2. Press and hold the root/bass note so it sustains for the whole measure
3. Play the root/bass note on every beat along with the chord, instead of just the first beat

Four Minus One Piano Rhythms

The next few patterns are simple variations of the above “four on the floor” style pattern. We’re basically not going to play on one of the beats in the measure.

Which beat you end up removing will have an impact on how that rhythm (and thus your song) feels/sounds.

Here’s how to play them all:

	Measure 1	Measure 2	Measure 3	Measure 4
Beat Count	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj – X – C Maj – C Maj	G Maj – X – G Maj – G Maj	A min – X – A min – A min	F Maj – X – F Maj – F Maj
Left Hand (root note)	C – X – X – X	G – X – X – X	A – X – X – X	F – X – X – X

	Measure 1	Measure 2	Measure 3	Measure 4
Beat Count	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj – C Maj – X – C Maj	G Maj – G Maj – X – G Maj	A min – A min – X – A min	F Maj – F Maj – X – F Maj
Left Hand (root note)	C – X – X – X	G – X – X – X	A – X – X – X	F – X – X – X

	Measure 1	Measure 2	Measure 3	Measure 4
Beat Count	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj – C Maj – C Maj – X	G Maj – G Maj – G Maj – X	A min – A min – A min – X	F Maj – F Maj – F Maj – X
Left Hand (root note)	C – X – X – X	G – X – X – X	A – X – X – X	F – X – X – X

Chord on Down Beats

Think of this rhythm as a Four Minus Two rhythm. We’re going to play the chord on the 1 and 3 counts of each measure. The bass note can play on the 1 count (like shown below), or can follow the chord by playing on the 1 and 3 counts – both work.

	Measure 1	Measure 2	Measure 3	Measure 4
Beat Count	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj – X – C Maj – X	G Maj – X – G Maj – X	A min – X – A min – X	F Maj – X – F Maj – X
Left Hand (root note)	C – X – X – X	G – X – X – X	A – X – X – X	F – X – X – X

Chord Lead In Rhythm

Here’s a basic rhythm that adds a little bit of a bounce to the feel. You’re playing the chord twice in each measure.

	Measure 1	Measure 2	Measure 3	Measure 4
Beat Count	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4	1 – 2 – 3 – 4
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj – X – X – C Maj	G Maj – X – X – G Maj	A min – X – X – A min	F Maj – X – X – F Maj
Left Hand (root note)	C – X – X – X	G – X – X – X	A – X – X – X	F – X – X – X

Syncopated Piano Rhythms

Let’s add a little bit of complexity to our straight piano rhythms above. These add a little more bounce and interest to any chord progression.

One thing to note about the below piano rhythm patterns is that we’re going to only show 2 measures of the patterns. You could just repeat the 2 chord patterns, or use them as a template to add the other 2 chords from the above progression for an additional 2 measures.

We’re only showing 2 measures so we can count out eighth and sixteenth notes (1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a, etc.). These can be tricky at first, but just take things SUPER SLOW and you’ll get it in no time.

Bass Lead In Pattern #1

	Measure 1 (1st half)	Measure 1 (2nd half)	Measure 2 (1st half)	Measure 2 (2nd half)
Beat Count	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	C Maj-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	G Maj-X-X-X, G Maj-X-X-X	G Maj-X-X-X, G Maj-X-X-X
Left Hand (root note)	C-X-X-X, X-X-C-X	C-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-G-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-X-X

Bass Lead In Pattern #2

	Measure 1 (1st half)	Measure 1 (2nd half)	Measure 2 (1st half)	Measure 2 (2nd half)
Beat Count	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	C Maj-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	G Maj-X-X-X, G Maj-X-X-X	G Maj-X-X-X, G Maj-X-X-X
Left Hand (root note)	C-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, X-X-C-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, X-X-G-X

Moving Bass Line Piano Pattern

This pattern is similar to the above patterns, but it is faster paced and more upbeat. The bass hand has more movement giving it that feel.

	Measure 1 (1st half)	Measure 1 (2nd half)	Measure 2 (1st half)	Measure 2 (2nd half)
Beat Count	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a
Right Hand (chord)	C Maj-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	G Maj-X-X-X, G Maj-X-X-X	A min-X-X-X, A min-X-X-X	F Maj-X-X-X, F Maj-X-X-X
Left Hand (root note)	C-X-X-X, X-X-C-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-G-X	A-X-X-X, X-X-A-X	F-X-X-X, X-X-F-X

Chord on Up-Beat w/ Syncopated Bass

In the following pattern, we’re not playing the chord on the down-beats (strong beats, i.e. 1 and 3) of the measure, but the bass note does get played on the 1.

We only show 2 chords here (the I and the V chord), but you could easily extend this to include the full 4-chord progression.

	Measure 1 (1st half)	Measure 1 (2nd half)	Measure 2 (1st half)	Measure 2 (2nd half)
Beat Count	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a
Right Hand (chord)	X-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, C Maj-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, G maj-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, G Maj-X-X-X
Left Hand (root note)	C-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-C-X, X-X-X-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-G-X, X-X-X-X

Arpeggiated Piano Rhythm Patterns

In the following patterns you’re technically still playing chords, but we’re breaking them up and playing them as an arpeggio. That just means instead of playing the notes in the chord all together at once, we play them one at a time.

Again we’re only showing two measures of the patterns, but you can use them as a template to add the other two chords into the progression.

Left Hand Arpeggio

For this piano rhythm we are playing the chord arpeggio in the left hand. The right hand plays the root note of each “chord” in the progression.

	Measure 1 (1st half)	Measure 1 (2nd half)	Measure 2 (1st half)	Measure 2 (2nd half)
Beat Count	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a
Right Hand (single note)	C-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, C-X-X-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, G-X-X-X
Left Hand (single note)	C-X-E-X, G-X-E-X	C-X-E-X, G-X-E-X	G-X-B-X, D-X-B-X	G-X-B-X, D-X-B-X

This pattern can also be inverted. Try playing the chord arpeggio in the right hand and the root note in the bass (left) hand.

Basic Alberti Bass Piano Pattern

This piano rhythm pattern is from the “romantic” era of classical music. It has a nice, smooth feeling to it. You’re playing the chord in the following way – low note, high note, middle note, high note.

Watch out for the change up at the very end of each measure. The arpeggio ends each measure on the root note of the chord instead of the high note like the rest of the measure. This makes it easier to move to the next chord.

It can be a bit difficult to get at first, but with some practice you’ll get it. Take it slow – super slow.

	Measure 1 (1st half)	Measure 1 (2nd half)	Measure 2 (1st half)	Measure 2 (2nd half)
Beat Count	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a	1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a	3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a
Right Hand (single note)	C-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, C-X-X-X	G-X-X-X, X-X-X-X	X-X-X-X, G-X-X-X
Left Hand (single note)	C-G-E-G, C-G-E-G	C-G-E-G, C-G-E-C	G-D-B-D, G-D-B-D	G-D-B-D, G-D-B-G

Again, try this pattern inverted as well – playing the chord arpeggio in the right hand instead of the left – for a different sound/vibe.

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