Offbeat Hands

Left hand on the beat, right hand exactly between the beats.

Level:
6 of 6
Hands:
Both hands
Key:
C major
Notes:
17
Range:
C3 to G4
One run:
about 7 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

17 notes, one at a time.

  1. C3
  2. C4
  3. E3
  4. E4
  5. G3
  6. G4
  7. E3
  8. E4
  9. C3
  10. C4
  11. E3
  12. E4
  13. G3
  14. G4
  15. E3
  16. E4
  17. C3

How to practise it

  1. The hands never play at the same moment: they alternate
  2. Keep the left hand steady, it is the metronome
  3. If you lose it, drop the right hand and rebuild from the beat

The scale behind it

This one is built on the C Major scale: C D E F G A B (no sharps or flats). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.

How to play it here

Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 17 notes.

What it trains

  • hands together
  • syncopation
  • independence

More coordination

The two hands doing different things at the same time.

All piano exercises