Spinning lantern
Notes circle up through the chord and widen, like a spinning lantern. One of the ostinato patterns.
How to play it
Find the notes
Put your right hand over a C chord. You need low E (thumb, 1), G (index finger, 2), C (ring finger, 4) and high E (little finger, 5).
Count and play
Count "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" (say "and" for &). Play C on 1, then low E on 1&, then G on 2, then C on 2&, then high E on 3, then G on 3&, then C on 4, then high E on 4&.
Move it with the chords
When the chord changes to G, the same rhythm moves to the notes of G: low B, D, G and high B. Play it slowly over the chord loop above, at 60% speed first, then faster.
Songs that use it
Questions
What is Spinning lantern on piano?
Notes circle up through the chord and widen, like a spinning lantern. A right-hand broken-chord figure repeated as a hook. Musicians call it broken-chord ostinato 8-3-5.
Is Spinning lantern 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 Spinning lantern?
Nobody Knows by Kevin Sharp, Taylor, The Latte Boy by Kristin Chenoweth and And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind by Elvis Presley use Spinning lantern. The songs on this page all use it in the right hand, the most played first.