Q. So, I've been teaching myself to play the piano. (a thoroughly complicated task, but beside the point) And, well I've come across chords. I know that chords are pretty much a bunch of notes played together. But the question is what notes? The song I'm working on has the chords C, E, F, G, Dm7 (whatever that means) Am, (A minor, or something, I think) and a C/E (totally lost there). Help. Please!
A. Pianos are cool.
The chords C, E, F and G all follow the same pattern - start on the letter of the chord (e.g. C) then add the notes that are 4 keys up (including black keys) and then another 3 keys up from that. So for C chord, four keys up is E, and another 3 keys up is G. C, E and G make up the C chord. That's for a major chord.
The minor chord has the same first and last note - but the middle note is one less. So start with the chord note, then got up 3 keys for the middle note, then go up 4 keys fort he last note. For Am you would start on A, go up 3 keys to C, then go up 4 keys to E. (ACE). A major would be similar - but the middle key would be one higher - C#. (A C# E).
You can try this with any starting note.
There are lots of variations for chords. Dm7 for example, is just D minor (D, F, A) with the addition of a fourth note. Without getting into details, just at 3 more keys from the last note (A+3 = C). So Dm7 is D, F, A, C.
C/E is a different thing again. The notes are actually identical to the C chord - however instead of the C being the main sound of the chord, the E is made to sound more dominant. Just play a C chord (CEG) with the right hand, and add a single E note in the bass scale.
Learning Piano Chords?
Q. Where do I begin? Majors? Is there a good free site which has pictures included?
Would it be good to learn scales before chords? Or after?
Thanks in advance
A. I was taught to play piano classically and I'd say if you want to be able to sightread and play classical pieces of music then there's no substitute for learning the scales. It was boring as anything but it'll stand you in good stead when playing piano generally because you'll already know the key signatures/fingering.
However, I know some other types of piano-playing particularly jazz and blues (and to some extent I guess rock) are built more around chords. This method is also supposed to be a fast-track method to learning to play? So if you're wanting to learn more for fun - to play around with songs or maybe write your own then maybe you don't need to know the more "correct" fingerings.
There's plenty of websites out there doing this kind of stuff but be warned a lot of them are trying to sell you something.
I've just had a quick look and I think this is my favourite because it shows you all the variations and how they should sound: http://www.8notes.com/piano_chord_chart/
If you prefer videos this is kind of basic but shows you exactly what you're doing and what fingering etc.
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/464_basic-piano-lessons-chords.htm
I think the normal order would be to learn them in the order of fewest sharps and flats so starting with C, G, D, A and F majors and A and D minors. (look at the ABRSM syllabus for the order they teach the scales: http://www.abrsm.org/resources/pianoComplete0608.pdf)
I think if it was me I'd learn both at the same time, so start with a basic scale like C major, and then learn the C major chord at the same time - maybe playing around with some of the variations a bit too.
I'm sure some other people will disagree though and if you're already familiar with music theory or play another instrument pretty well you can probably skip the scales. Or if you're not too serious about piano and doing it just for fun by all means learn the chords.
How to do chord variations on the piano?
Q. When playing the chords of songs, my teacher can do these variations on the rhythm and the notes of these chords instead of just playing it solid once every beat. Can someone please explain how I can do these and make it sound nice? Thanks :)
A. Your teacher used different ways to arrange the music. There are tons of tricks you can do to make your playing sound interesting:
1. Chord inversion
2. Chord substituition
3. Varying rhythm
4. Broken chords, etc
Here are some helpful lessons to make your playing sounds exciting:
http://www.playpianotips.com
http://www.pianoimprov2.com
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Title : How to play piano chords. HELP PLEASE!?
Description : Q. So, I've been teaching myself to play the piano. (a thoroughly complicated task, but beside the point) And, well I've come acr...