Q. I'm writing a song for piano.
And I need a chord that is major and another chord that is minor.
I want to start out the song in major, transition to minor, then transition back to the original major key. Any suggestions?
A. C , F , Dm , Am , G , C.
variations around the becoming a C7 , follwed by FMAG 7, can be good too
one of my favoutite progressions/ compositions/ likes
I am just starting to learn how to play PIANO by ear but I don't know which CHORDS to use?
Q. I read sheet music and i decided that it was about time I start to learn how to play piano by ear.
But that requires chords and I don't know which chord to use for a certain part of a melody since there are to many chords. How do we know which chords should be used?
A. That's pretty easy to answer. I have been in this officially for 25 years and doing this since 42 years ago.
The right hand part is pretty straightforward - up down or the same.
For the left hand part, you need to know how to form all the 144 chords (at least) using 9 formulas. To learn that, the formulas are as below:
My advise is to forget about scales if you want the fast track to getting chords. It will just like touching your nose the other way around. We can get back to the scale theory behind it later. In my profession, I strife to make learn as simple as possible for my 5000+ student in my 25 years of teaching. I hope this helps you.
Just think in terms of semitones (or half-steps in American Terms) and sharps and flats. With only 9 formulas, you can create at least 144 chords. There is absolutely nothing complicated with forming chords if you do it this way. Just peel open your eyes and ears.
You most probably would have already learnt that major chords are formed by pressing the Root note, next note 4 half steps up and then 3 half steps up. ie. C E and G in C chord. You can get every other major chords by using this R - 4 - 3 formula.
Now, to get the minor chord, just flatten the middle note (i.e. E flatted to E flat). So Cm chord = C Eb G. I do not want to use R - 3 - 4 because by doing so, you end up memorizing 12 formulas at least. I just want you to remember 9 for the time being)
Now for the 6th, 7th and Major 7th. (6th & Maj 7ths omitted. See reason below) Basically it means:
For 7th ADD a note 3 half steps from the 5th note. C7 will result in C E G Bb. These chords with "unfinished" feelings alway appear in pairs with root chords. I.e. G7 with C chord in C key; C7 with F Chord in F key; etc.
FYI, Yahoo answers has prevented me from submitting the complete article which becomes too long if everything is there. So you have to contact me to get the full picture.
For all the above, you will see that all these adds to the color of sound and like an artist, these are your shades that will help you paint your masterpieces. How you use them will determine the quality and output of your music.
With the above, you can create 144 chords at least. Test it out.
With so much 144 colors, you should have enough to paint your masterpieces. Only after mastering these, we worry about the 9ths, 11ths, 13ths later. If you take the course as I prescribed, there will be exercises and charts for you to put these into practice and also later, for reference..
To put them into your melody, you need to start being aware of the sound and the feeling (intention) of the song. Some part of the song will feel like it is getting stronger, some will feel like it is finishing, some will feel like it is unfinished. If it is getting stronger, you apply Chord IV (F chord if in C key); If the song sounds finished, you use chord I (C chord in C key); If unfinished, you use V7 (G7 in C key). There is a reason why you use G7 instead of G which can be explained in my course mentioned in my link.
As for the other chords like II, III VI and VII, they all convey different feelings and intentions. You have start getting aware. Then you will always get them right. In fact, you can even come to the stage of hearing the song and knowing exactly what goes where. It takes time to develop. I can do it. I have a course for that too but it is in Level 3A. You need to complete Level 1 and 2 first.
The above tips should be good enough to get you through the 1st stage.
There is a theory that the chord to be chosen should the based on the chord tone of the melody note. This will get you the correct answer only 70 to 80% of the time. This theory is a fallacy and does not help you to really bring out the best in a song. To prove me right, I would like to ask you to try that for Elvis Presley's song "Love Me Tender" or the folk song "Aura Lee".
I hope with these, you will have a good time making music.
There are a few more elements which you need to incorporate into your playing to make it to a hobbyist level. Check the below link to see the details.
How can I play chords like Em7 or Dm7 on the piano?
Q. I'm playing piano and well I just have no idea how to play chords like Gm7 or just G7 or Em7 or Dm7 and etc. To make it much easier please explain to me how to play them and not just what notes to press. I want to be able to know how to play any kind of chord that has "7" or minor in front of the note. Thank you so much! Please help me out!
A. Okay, so if you are in the key of G minor, take Gm7: it is a minor triad on G with the minor 7th added. So you want the root (G) and the 3rd, 5th and 7th degrees of the G natural minor scale. I assume you know what this is: G, A, B flat, C, D, E flat, F, G.
The same applies to every 7th chord, major or minor: the chord consists of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th degrees on the root. So for a minor 7th chord, you use the minor 3rd, but for a major 7th chord you use the major 3rd. Any 7th chord uses the perfect 5th.
Another point is that whichever 7th you add to the basic major or minor triad to create the 7th chord depends on the key the music is in: try looking at some examples, but the 7th of the minor chord is the 7th degree in the key of the music, not the 'key' of the chord. Generally the 7th of a minor chord is a minor 7th above the root, but the 7th of a major chord can be either a major 7th or a minor 7th above the bass. E.g. if you are in C major, G7 has an F as the 7th degree (i.e. a minor 7th), but C7 has a B (i.e. a major 7th). As I said above, as a general rule, count up from the root of the chord to the 3rd, 5th and 7th degrees, but using the scale and accidentals that the piece is in.
Another way to look at it is in terms of the intervals you are adding to the root. Again, you take your root, which for Gm7 is G, add a minor 3rd, giving you B flat, add a major 3rd on top of that, giving you D, and add another minor 3rd to give you F. Every minor 7th chord (Gm7, Em7, Dm7....) consists of a stack of three 3rds: minor, major, minor. For every major 7th chord (G7, E7...) you again use a stack of three 3rds, but it is major, minor, minor/major this time.
Incidentally, it's nice to see that you want to work out the principles of it, rather than just be told the 'right answer'!
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