Q. There as letters like Am, G, A7 etc. on top of staff in each measure. I know these are called chords but have no Idea how to play them There are also notes on staff which to play notes or chord. Please help I am just a beginner.
A. You're correct, they are chords. When you see them on the top of the staff, that usually a situation where the staff contains the melody and the chords are for the accompanying instrument (guitar, mandolin, banjo, etc). Since a chord is a mix of two or more notes, they're not intended for single-note instruments (trumpet, clarinet, etc).
If you're using a piano, you can finger the chords as long as you know the "recipe" -- the individual notes that make up the chord. Once you know the rules, you can figure out the recipe on your own -- for instance, a "Major" chord consists of three notes ... the "root" (a "C" Major chord has "C" as the root), a second note four half-steps above the root (for a "C" Major chord, the second note would be an "E"), and a third note seven half-steps above the root (for a "C" Major chord, the third note would be a "G"). How you arrange the notes (C-E-G ... or G-C-E, for instance) is the "voicing" of the chord. Sometimes altering voicing yields a different "feeling" for the chord.
There are loads of information sources on chords and chord theory. The site in the "source" below is a nice page of sample piano chords. The second site can help you find sites on chord theory.
How are scales actually used when playing music?
Q. VERY beginner question here. I'm trying to learn some music theory online. I already know how to find scales, I'm just very confused as to exactly what they do and how they are applied when playing music or piano.
Is a scale just a sequence of notes that are played one by one in their particular order in the scale?
Are they just a selection of notes that can be played in any arrangement? Can you play two notes of a scale at the same time?
If someone can clarify with a detailed response I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
A. Scales are the fundamental part of modern western music. Chords are based on scales. There are a great many chords and scales, but the basic premise is the same. Using the scale of C major as an example - CDEFGAB and C. By convention, the notes of a scale are numbered - 1234567 and 8. Number one is often called the "root", and the others are usually ordinal numbers - "fifth", "seventh". The C major chord is C,E,G, which is the root, the third and the fifth. In fact, all major chords are the root, the third and the fifth. The other chords - minor, harmonic minor - go by the same rule. A major chord is 1,3,5 no matter what key it is in - D major is 1,3,5 as is A major. That is based on what is called an "interval" - from C to D is a whole step. From C to C sharp is a half step. Look up intervals, it will help and it's too complicated for here.
So. It has been found that playing the C major scale in a song that is in the key of C produces pleasing, harmonic music. There are also other scales that can be used in C major, but playing a scale of B flat over a C chord is discordant to most people's ears. It's important to know which scales go well with which chords. Learning these things makes it automatic - instead of playing around to get a feel for what sounds good, you can just say, "Hey, I'm in the key of C, I think I'll use the harmonic minor scale for this" and it will sound good. Then there is the other side of intervals - actually playing them. Instead of playing 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 play 1,8,2,3,4, 6,6,6 You can play any of the notes in the scale any time, in any order, because it's all harmonic. In the same way, you can play any chord structure with 2, 3, 4 or even five notes. C major is 1,3,5 but you can also play 1,3,5,7, though that's not called C major any more. But it will sound good. Just about anything you do within this basic framework will sound harmonic and pleasing. That doesn't mean it will be good music necessarily, but it won't be discordant. I've tried to off some depth, but it goes way beyond what I can write, and I know a fair amount of theory but not so, so much.
what fingers I have to play in a piano chord?
Q. Some book taught me that I have to play with my thumb, my index and my ring finger but some persons say that I have to play with my thumb, my middle finger and my little finger and i don´t know what can i do. This is in case of the right hand.
A. I'm a pianist/composer http://pianoismyfriend.com
There is no such rule that you have to use this and that finger for all chords.
Every chord is different, every distance between one key to the other is different. You want to play the chord comfortably in relation to your fingers.
If you find any finger numbering in a sheet, that's just written there to 'assist/help' you to be able to play comfortably. So it's entirely up to you, as long as you can play them comfortably and produce correct sound.
Just for reference, basic chord has 3 variations. Root, 1st Interval, and 2nd Interval.
Root = C E G (thumb, middle, pinky)
1st Interval = E G C (thumb, index, pinky)
2nd Interval = G C E (thumb, middle, pinky)
Advice: avoid using your ring finger because it is a weakest finger out of your 5 fingers :)
Powered by Yahoo! Answers