Mountain leap
Three notes from very low to very high, leaping across the keyboard. One of the left-hand arpeggio patterns.
How to play it
Find the notes
Put your left hand over a C chord. You need low C (little finger, 5), G (thumb, 1) and high C (index finger, 2).
Count and play
Count 1, 2, 3, 4. Play low C on 1, then G on 2, then high C on 3 and hold it.
Move it with the chords
When the chord changes to G, the same rhythm moves to the notes of G: low G, D and high G. Play it slowly over the chord loop above, at 60% speed first, then faster.
Songs that use it
Questions
What is Mountain leap on piano?
Three notes from very low to very high, leaping across the keyboard. A two-octave arpeggio, Romantic and film-score style. Musicians call it wide arpeggio 1-5-15.
Is Mountain leap hard to play?
It is one of the advanced patterns. Take it slowly, one bar at a time at 60% speed, before you play it over a chord loop.
Which songs use Mountain leap?
Children Will Listen (Film Version) by Stephen Sondheim, Beauty And The Beast by Glenda Austin and Beauty And The Beast by Alan Menken use Mountain leap. The songs on this page all use it in the left hand, the most played first.