Do you love 50’s Americana music? Well, grab your poodle skirts, cardigan sweaters or thin ties because you’ll be adding a little ‘doo wop’ pattern to your playing!
If you are absolutely new to playing piano, please be sure to check out earlier article on putting chords together (part 1 and part 2) or the entire beginner piano mini-lesson series on YouTube. These articles and videos are building on each other with rhythm patterns, chord progressions and more.
Doo Wop Pattern
This iconic pattern is still used in music today and creates a fun mood that can’t help but draw the listener in. I know it’s almost impossible to not sway or dance when I hear this pattern.
For this mini lesson, we’ll be using the “Heart and Soul” chord progression. We used this in a previous lesson, but just in case you need a little reminder here are the details:
- I – vi – IV – V
- For this exercise: C Major, A minor, F Major, G Major
For an easier way to see and hear this pattern, watch the video below for the full mini-lesson on the doo wop pattern on piano!
Adding A Little Rhythm
- Left hand: tonic notes (single notes)
- Right hand: Play chords 4 times before switching
- Challenge: walking bass line + 3 right hand notes
Improvising
Here are 3 ways to improvise using the ‘doo wop’ piano pattern!
- In the left hand, play octaves – solid or alternate the notes
- In the right hand, play broken chords (super dramatic with octaves in the left hand)
- Change the order of chord notes.
Here’s the only rule. End on the C Major chord so your mini song sounds complete.
‘Doo Wop’ Pattern Review
There are endless possibilities when playing the this pattern and chord progression on the piano. I hope that you have had fun creating a retro sounding song!
What was your favourite way of playing the Doo Wop pattern on the piano?
If you like this approach to learning piano, click to set up an interview to join our online piano studio!
