Q. I'm completely fresh to playing a piano. I know where the notes on the keyboard are located... i was wanting to play something incredibly gloomy and improvised. what notes do you suggest to create a gloomy, mellow tone?
A. Well, in the movie "This Is Spinal tap," one of the characters talks about, "a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.
So, you could start by playing in D minor. Play a d minor chord in your left hand (d, f, and a). In your right hand, you can make up a melody using the notes in the d minor scale. You can choose between natural minor and the harmonic minor scale.
Natural minor: D E F G A Bâ C D
Harmonic minor: D E F G A Bâ C# D
Or stick with your right hand in the five finger position to start: D E F G A
A common chord progression would be:
d minor (d f a)
g minor (g bâ d) or (d g bâ) so you don't have do jump around--an inversion
a minor (a c e) or (c e a) -- inversion
d minor (d f a)
You could also go back and forth between g minor and d minor for a while.
Another chord you might add to the mix is an e minor chord (e g b)...as long as you don't play a Bâ in the right hand at this time.
This should be a great start to a beautiful, gloomy song with room to improvise.
Should I give up piano and start electric guitar?
Q. Well,I watch many videos from youtube with guitar covers and I get jealous!I started playing the piano six years ago.Should I give up?What do you think?
A. I started out on piano when I was 8, and took up guitar a couple of years later (and bass the year after that).
I continued taking piano lessons until I was 13 or so. The only reason I stopped was that I was in high school band (trumpet), and the after-school marching rehearsals (4 days a week, plus a football game on Friday) made it tough to do.
I wasn't crazy about taking piano at the time, but I'm thankful to may parents everyday now for making that happen for me. Being able to read music and understanding chord theory put me miles ahead.
It's been a long time since I've played keys on a regular basis, and I'm probably going to add a keyboard setup back into my live rig this year.
And yeah, you can't strap a baby grand over your shoulder and jump around, but just about everything you learn on piano will make you a better guitarist!
Greetings from Austin, Tx
Ken
Piano Fingering: How to determine the correct fingering when sight reading?
Q. When you're learning a new piece on your own, how exactly do you determine the most efficient fingerings? Do you base the fingering from the basics: scales, arpeggios, and chords we learn all those years of practising? Or does it just come naturally and randomly?
A. Absolutely use your knowledge of scales, arpeggios etc to get started. From there, be prepared to experiment; there is not usually one, best definitive way.
Generally, avoid too many jumps and make it as smooth as possible. Specifically, a few ideas:
- If your score includes fingerings, follow them, but know that you might need to change some of it to suit your hands. Compare fingerings from different scores, if possible.
- Use the middle fingers on black keys and the end fingers on white.
- Avoid having fingers left over at the end of running passages; try to end the phrase on the pinkie.
- For sequential chords, use fingering that requires the least amount of movement of the hand.
- For chords, don't forget to use your 4th finger!
- What works slowly may not always work up to speed; remember that.
- Use finger substitution for expanding hand positions or sustaining single notes.
The best advice I ever received about fingering was to pencil it in on your score, and do it that way every time (unless you make a decision to change it, then rub it out and put the new finger in, and do it *that* way every time).
An example of this: if you have a rapid, scale-like passage, mark in where the 3rd and 4th fingers will fall. Not the first, or anything else, just 3s and 4s. This way, your brain can quickly see where the thumb and the 3rd/4th finger will interact.
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Title : What notes should i play on the piano to create a gloomy song?
Description : Q. I'm completely fresh to playing a piano. I know where the notes on the keyboard are located... i was wanting to play something incre...