How to play "Riptide" on Gesture Synth
Riptide is the song everyone plays at the campfire, and on Gesture Synth it is almost suspiciously easy: Am, G, C, and nothing else. The entire chart is that three-chord loop, twelve times.
That makes Riptide a perfect song for building speed with confidence. Since the hand shapes never change in quality — every chord is a plain triad — the only job is keeping the left hand on beat as it cycles degree VI, V, and I.
Difficulty: Beginner
Three chords in a vi–V–I loop at 100 BPM — the whole song is one pattern.
The whole song
Am → G → C, repeated for all twelve bars. There is no chorus to learn, no bridge, no key change. If you can play the loop once, you can play the entire song.
Practice tips
- This is your first 100 BPM song — the loop moves faster than the hymns, so start with the metronome at half speed.
- The Am (degree VI) is the entrance every time, so treat it as your home shape and feel the loop start there.
- Since quality never changes, challenge yourself to keep your right hand perfectly still and put all the motion in your left wrist.
Keep going
Once you can play "Riptide" from memory, try these next:
Ready for the next challenge?
Browse the rest of the songbook or review the gesture reference.
Browse the songbookChord gesture reference