Pieces › Tunes everyone knows

The House of the Rising Sun

Arpeggios in 6/8

This traditional folk ballad became a worldwide hit in 1964 with The Animals. You accompany it by rolling out the chords in eighth notes, in 6/8 time: two beats of three eighth notes each.

Five chords: A minor, C, D, F and E. The D contains an F♯ and the E a G♯: two black keys.

Heard in: versions by The Animals, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone

Tips

• Count “1-2-3, 4-5-6”: the pattern climbs on 1-2-3-4 and comes back down on 5-6.
• Your thumb (1) plays the lowest note of the arpeggio, your pinky (5) the octave.

The arpeggio in the right hand

One chord per measure, in six eighth notes. The computer plays the bass.

Both hands

The left hand holds each chord’s bass note for the whole measure.