Nathaniel School of Music

The Only Left-Hand Piano Arpeggio You Need (Works on Any Song)

Play each left-hand chord as low, high, middle, high in steady eighth notes (two cycles per bar), use inversions so the chords move smoothly, and then improvise a right-hand melody using chord tones, the pentatonic scale, singing, or small scale shapes.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 27 min

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Key points

What this lesson teaches

This lesson from Jason Zac at Nathaniel School of Music gives you one dependable left-hand arpeggio pattern that works under almost any song in 4/4 that is not too dancey or groovy. It is ideal for ballads and melodic pieces where the right hand carries the tune and the left hand supports it. It is aimed at intermediate pianists working on hand independence, voice leading and improvisation.

The example progression is the four-chord sequence from the Amélie piano theme: E minor, G major, B minor, D major. These chords all come from the E minor scale, which shares its notes with G major (one sharp, F#).

Step 1: Use inversions so the chords stay close

If you play every chord in root position, your hand has to jump around. Instead, keep any notes the next chord has in common and move only what has to change.

  1. E minor: E G B.
  2. G major: G and B are shared with E minor, so keep them. Replace E with D, one step down. You now have D G B.
  3. B minor: D and B are shared with G major. Only G changes, moving down to F#. You now have D F# B.
  4. D major: D and F# are already there. Move B down to A. You now have D F# A.

Your hand barely moves, and the chords flow smoothly into each other.

Step 2: The L-H-M-H arpeggio pattern

Name the three notes of each chord Low, Middle and High by pitch. The pattern is Low, High, Middle, High. Over E minor that is E, B, G, B.

Play it in eighth notes, counting 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and, so the pattern runs twice in each bar: L H M H L H M H. Then change to the next chord and apply the same pattern. Don't overplay it: one bar per chord is enough.

Keep it slow at first, then add dynamics (volume control), letting the pattern swell louder and drop softer. The goal is for the left hand to run on autopilot, so steadily that you could talk while playing it. You cannot think about two things at once, so this hand needs to be pre-programmed before the melody arrives. Give it time.

Step 3: Five ways to improvise a right-hand melody

1. Chord tones

Over each chord, play only its notes: E, G and B over E minor, and so on. Start by holding single notes. Then use one, two or all three chord tones per chord, explore them higher or lower on the keyboard, and add simple rhythms. Neighbouring scale notes such as F# can add colour, but some notes outside the scale will not sound good.

2. The E minor pentatonic scale

The notes are E, G, A, B, D (and E again at the octave). As a formula, that is 1, b3, 4, 5, b7. It sounds good over every chord in this progression, and it is great for building catchy phrases. You can move around freely or stay in one hand shape.

3. Sing, then play (call and response)

Play the progression and hum a phrase, then find it on the piano. Practise as call and response: sing a bar, then play a bar. You can also sing away from the piano and record your ideas on your phone to work on later. This trains your fingers, your ear and your hand independence all at once. Your singing will naturally tend to stay within the scale.

4. Small scale shapes

Take three consecutive notes of the E minor scale, such as E, F#, G, and improvise with them. Then shift the set to start on F#, then on G. Try sets of four or five as well. Everything sounds decent because it all belongs to the scale.

5. The Amélie theme

The melody fits over the same progression and leans heavily on chord tones. You can play it as single notes, in octaves, or in thirds. A busier section breaks the chord tones into sixteenth-note groups of three with accents, which needs a slightly stretched hand.

How to practise

Questions about this lesson

What is the L-H-M-H left-hand arpeggio?

You name the three chord notes Low, Middle and High by pitch and play them in the order Low, High, Middle, High. In eighth notes the pattern runs twice per bar of 4/4, so over E minor it is E B G B E B G B.

What chords are used in the Amélie progression?

The progression is E minor, G major, B minor and D major, all from the E minor scale. Played with smooth inversions in the left hand, they are E G B, D G B, D F# B and D F# A.

Which scale can I improvise with over this progression?

The E minor pentatonic scale, E G A B D, works over every chord in the progression. You can also use plain chord tones or small groups of consecutive E minor scale notes.

What kind of songs does this arpeggio pattern suit?

It suits songs in 4/4 that are melodic rather than dancey or groovy, such as ballads where the right hand plays the melody. It works in major keys as well as minor ones.

Practise it

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