Nathaniel School of Music

5 Left-Hand Ballad Arpeggio Patterns for Beautiful Solo Piano

Five left-hand ballad arpeggio patterns are low-high-middle-high (LHMH), LHMH with octave displacement, a fifth-plus-off-beat combo, a spread (open) voicing and an extended octave arpeggio, all practised over a chromatic E major progression beneath a fixed right-hand melody.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 34 min

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Key points

This lesson from Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music builds five left-hand arpeggio patterns for solo piano ballads. It suits players at every level. Beginners can start with the first pattern, and experienced players can push on to the later patterns and 16th-note versions. The right hand plays a simple, fixed ballad melody, so the left hand carries the harmony and the movement.

The key and the chord progression

Everything is in E major (E F# G# A B C# D#). Instead of the usual I-IV-V or I-V-vi-IV, the progression uses slash chords so the bass falls chromatically. Learn it first as block chords, one chord per bar, with the last bar holding two chords:

  1. E (E G# B)
  2. B/D# (B major with D# in the bass)
  3. Bm/D (B minor with D in the bass)
  4. A/C# (A major with C# in the bass)
  5. Am/C (A minor with C in the bass)
  6. E/B (E major with B in the bass)
  7. F#/A# (F# major with A# in the bass)
  8. Bsus4 resolving to B, the dominant chord that pulls back to E

The bass line runs E, D#, D, C#, C, B, A#, B. That smooth chromatic descent is a classic old-ballad sound. A slash chord simply means the note after the slash is the bass note.

The five left-hand patterns

Learn each pattern on a single E major chord first, then take it through all eight chords.

Pattern 1: LHMH

Play low, high, middle, high and loop it. On E major that is E, B, G#, B. It is the textbook solo-piano arpeggio and needs only three fingers.

Pattern 2: LHMH with octave displacement

Play LHMH, then repeat it with the low note moved up an octave. That octave is written as L' (L with a dash). The thumb has to move over to reach it. Accent the lowest and highest notes for a swinging feel, and once you are comfortable try it in 16th notes.

Fingering: the pinky, index and thumb take the first, third and fourth notes. The second note goes to the middle or ring finger. In the bass, use the ring finger when that note is a black key and the middle finger when it is a white key.

Pattern 3: The combo pattern

Strike the low and high notes together on the beat, which gives a thick power-chord fifth. Then play the middle note on the off-beat. It fills out the bass and adds a swing feel. Keep all five fingers ready rather than treating it as a three-finger job.

Pattern 4: Spread (open) voicing

Take the third out of the middle and place it an octave higher, so E major becomes E, B, G#. That leaves wide intervals of a fifth, a sixth or more and gives a cello-like, orchestral sound. Use your wrist to reach it and play steady eighth notes. Spread voicings stay clear low on the keyboard, where LHMH can sound muddy. For example, A/C# becomes C#, A, E and Am/C becomes C, A, E.

Pattern 5: The extended show-off arpeggio

Go up low, middle, high, then the octave of the low note and the octave of the middle note, and come back down. That makes eight quavers, or 16ths if you can manage them. Avoid climbing even higher, because it fights with the right hand. For fingering, use four fingers to finish the octave and then cross a finger, usually the middle or index, depending on the chord. Aim for a legato sound even without pedal. When you add pedal, lift it before each chord.

Adding the melody and practising

Questions about this lesson

What is the LHMH arpeggio pattern on piano?

LHMH means low, high, middle, high: you play the lowest note of the chord, then the highest, then the middle, then the highest again, and loop it. On E major it is E, B, G#, B.

What is a spread voicing in the left hand?

A spread voicing removes the third from the middle of the chord and places it an octave higher, so E major becomes E, B, G#. The wider intervals sound clear even low on the piano, where close arpeggios can get muddy.

Which finger should play the second note of the arpeggio?

In the octave-displacement pattern, the second note goes to the middle or ring finger. In the bass, the ring finger usually works better on a black key and the middle finger on a white key.

Why does the melody use G natural over the A minor chord?

Am/C is a chromatic chord outside E major, and G natural fits it better than G#. The G# clashes once the harmony has left the E major scale.

Practise it

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