Pinwheel
Three notes spin in a loop that keeps landing in new places. One of the ostinato patterns.
How to play it
Find the notes
Put your right hand over a C chord. You need C (thumb, 1), E (middle finger, 3) and G (little finger, 5).
Count and play
Count "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" (say "and" for &). Play G on 1, then C on 1&, then E on 2, then G on 2&, then C on 3, then E on 3&, then G on 4, then C on 4&.
Move it with the chords
When the chord changes to G, the same rhythm moves to the notes of G: G, B and D. Play it slowly over the chord loop above, at 60% speed first, then faster.
Songs that use it
Questions
What is Pinwheel on piano?
Three notes spin in a loop that keeps landing in new places. A right-hand broken-chord figure repeated as a hook. Musicians call it broken-chord ostinato 5-1-3.
Is Pinwheel hard to play?
It is an intermediate pattern. Learn it with your right hand alone at 60% speed first, then play it over a chord loop.
Which songs use Pinwheel?
I Turn To You by Christina Aguilera uses Pinwheel. The songs on this page all use it in the right hand, the most played first.