Q. I know basic piano - I can read very basic sheet music, and I can play by ear. I can get the melody to a song, play it with one hand, but how do figure out which notes I should be playing with the other hand to give it that complete, harmonizing sound? I took piano lessons years ago, so I can't remember. I think it has something to do with chords though, right?
A. Composing (writing) a song on the piano is way different than simply playing the piano. It sounds like you are really wanting to know how to put chords to a melody.
Unfortunately, this can't be answered here in a short amount of time.
What you need is to study music theory. Here are a few good sites I've found that should help you out, although ideally, you should take piano lessons again.
To get a better handle on what it's all about, I recommend:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_theory
Then, check out some of the following:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=books%3A+Music+theory&btnG=Google+Search
And yes, there is a book titled "Music Theory for Dummies."
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=Music+theory+for+dummies&btnG=Search
HELPFUL ONLINE STUDIES:
http://www.musictheory.net
http://www.numbera.com/musictheory/
Also, take a look at some sheet music in a music store. Just looking at a few songs that you are familiar with will help you match the chords with the melody. What you will find is that, in most cases, the note in the melody matches a note in the accompanying chord.
Probably more info than you were looking for, but I'm just trying to share the wealth!
Kabum
What does this symbol on piano note mean?
Q. Im playing "paganoogie variations" by john maul and there is a 4 note chord with three diagonal lines or slashes on the notes stem. also there is one note with two slashes on it. What does this mean?
A. It's tremolo. Check out this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremolo
What is the best music generating program?
Q. I'm making a movie, and I'd like a decent soundtrack. What is the best music-generating program for things like Guitar chords and piano excerpts, stuff like that?
A. http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-music-software.htm
I installed LMMS and Hydrogen on my Vista machine last weekend and have made a couple of little (and not so good yet) instrumentals. The LMMS Wiki is excellent and there are a number of tutorials on YouTube for both programs. The main problem was that I downloaded LMMS's newest release and some things shown in the tutorials are a little different in the new version but my old brain figured them out;-) LMMS can be used with a MIDI keyboard. I'm not sure about Hydrogen.
http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.adobe.com/products/soundbooth/
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/
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Title : How do I compose a song on the piano?
Description : Q. I know basic piano - I can read very basic sheet music, and I can play by ear. I can get the melody to a song, play it with one hand, b...