Old-time stride
Stride piano: a leaping left hand, ragtime style.
Chords: C, G, Am, F, C, G, Am, F
How to play it
Left hand: Stride jumps
Deep bass, then a chord in the middle: the left hand leaps.
Right hand: Swing push
Three chords tumble out early with a swing, then the bar breathes.
Both hands
Play them together over the Happy chord loop, in 4/4 at about 112 beats a minute. Start at 60% speed.
Songs in this style
Questions
What does the left hand play in stride piano?
Patterns like Stride jumps, Boom-chick and Oom-pah. The first is the one you hear on this page.
What does the right hand play?
Patterns like Swing push, Offbeat skank and Hopscotch chords, over the chords of the loop.
Which songs are played in this style?
Purple Rain by Prince, Count On Me by Bruno Mars and Time To Say Goodbye by Sarah Brightman with Andrea Bocelli use the Old-time stride style. The songs on this page all are played in this style, the most played first.