Can You Play All The Major Chords in 3 Seconds or Less?

Can YOU Play All The Major Chords in 3 Seconds or Less?

Did you have any idea how easy it is to learn ALL the major chords (there are 12 of them)
and be able to play them in seconds -- not hours or days or weeks or months or years?
Some people go through their entire lives not being sure about what such and such a major
chord is -- and it's all so unnecessary, because you can memorize them in just a few
minutes, and learn to play them in 12 seconds or less - one second per major chord.

I have had many private students over the years who could play them all in as little as 5
seconds -- one little gal (she was about 12 at the time) had particularly fast hands, and
could play them in - believe it or not - 3 seconds! I have slow hands with fat fingers,
and yet I can play them in something like 5 or 6 seconds. So if I can do it with little
fat hands and chubby short fingers, you can too.

First, here's what the major chords look like on the staff: I hope you noticed that 3 of
the major chords were made of all white keys: C F G. And I hope you noticed that 3 of the
major chords were made of white keys on the outside, with a black key in the middle: D E
A. And did you notice that 3 of the major chords were like an Oreo cookie? Black on the
outside, white on the inside? Db Eb Ab. That only leaves 3 major chords, one of which is
all black, and one of which is white, black, black, and the other the reverse -- black,
white, white. Gb (all black) B (white, black, black) Bb (black, white, white). And that's
it..

Practice playing the first 3 major chords over and over until you can move between them
smoothly and quickly. Then practice the next 3 major chords -- then the next 3 -- then
the last 3. After you can play them by 3's, practice playing the first 6 without
stopping. Then practice the first 9 without stopping. Then finally practice playing all
12 without stopping.

There's no particular virtue, of course, in playing them quickly, except for the fact
that it makes you confident you can find them in a hurry when you need them in a song.
But you'll find that as your confidence grows, your enjoyment and competence in piano
playing will grow commensurately.

For a sight-and-sound lesson on the 12 major chords, please go to:

Major chords

http://playpiano.com/101-tips/3-major-chords.htm

Diminished Triads: The Salt of a Musical Meal

Diminished Chords: The Salt of a Musical Meal

There are four basic kinds of triads (3-note chords) in music:

Major triads: composed of the root, major 3rd, and perfect 5th of a major scale.
Minor triads: composed of the root, minor 3rd, and perfect 5th of a major scale.
Diminished triads: composed of the root, minor 3rd, and diminished 5th of a major scale.
Augmented triads: composed of the root, major 3rd, and augmented 5th of a major scale.

As an example, the C major scale is:

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

So a C major triad would be:
C, E, G
A minor triad would be:
C, Eb, G
A diminished triad would be:
C, Eb, Gb
An augmented triad would be:
C, E, G#

About 90% of the songs we know or hear on the radio or TV (or on our IPOD's or other MP3 player) are written in a major key. That means that most of the chords in those songs are major chords -- only 20% or so are minor chords.

The other 10% of songs and musical compositions are written in a minor key, which means that there will be several minor chords within the context of the piece.
So if nearly 100% of all songs contain major and minor chords, what place is there for diminished and augmented triads?

They are the salt and pepper of a musical meal.

In other words, major chords are like the main dish -- the steak, if you will, of a song. Minor chords are like a side dish of corn or broccoli (yuk!) or whatever.

You would never sit down to a meal of just pepper or just salt, would you? Same way here; you use diminished and augmented triads to add spice to your meat and potatoes.

So here are the 12 diminished triads:

C dim: C, Eb, Gb
F dim: F, Ab, Cb
G dim: G, Bb, Db
D dim: D, F, Ab
E dim: E, G, Bb
A dim: A, C, Eb
Db dim: Db, Fb, Abb (same as G)(By the way, Db dim is enharmonic with C# dim)
Eb dim: Eb, Gb, Bbb (same as A) (Eb dim is enharmonic with D# dim)
Ab dim: Ab, Cb, Ebb (same as D) (Ab dim is enharmonic with G# dim)
Gb dim: Gb, Bb, Dbb (same as C) (Gb dim is enharmonic with F# dim)
Bb dim: Bb, Db, Fb (Bb dim is enharmonic with A# dim)
B dim: B, D, F

So diminished chords are used to add spice to your musical meal. You don't linger on them, but use them as transition chords between a major and another major chord, or between a major and a minor chord, or sometimes even between two minor chords.

For example, let's say you are playing "Amazing Grace" in the key of F and your first chord is F major on the words "Amazing grace". As you transition to the Dm chord on the word "sweet", you can insert a C# diminished triad on the word "how". It only lasts one beat, but it adds interest to the song.

As you play various songs, look for opportunities to use diminished triads as transition chords. And just like salt is to a meal, so diminished triads are to a musical meal.

Minor Chords: How To Form Them & Use Them

Minor Chords: How To Form Them & Use Them

Minor chords create a sound which is somber or serious; some people even think of minor chords as "sad", as opposed to major chords which sound "normal", or "happy". Some of the great classics are written in minor keys, including Fur Elise by Beethoven, Prelude in C# Minor by Rachmaninoff, Prelude in Cm by Chopin, and many others. In popular music there is "Summertime", "A Taste of Honey", "'Round Midnight", etc. and in folk music there is "Greensleeves", "Dark Eyes", "Volga Boatman","When Johnny Comes Marching Home" and many more.
But minor chords also occur frequently in songs which are written in major keys, and they provide the contrast needed to make a song interesting. The most-used chords in any given key are the I, IV, and V chords which are major, but followed by the ii, iii, and iv chords which are minor. So most songs written in a major key include from 1 to 3 minor chords somewhere along the line.
To understand minor chords we first need to understand major chords. Major chords are created using the root, 3rd, and 5th of a major scale. A major scale (from "la scala" = the ladder) is defined as a row of notes that moves from a root (the bottom or starting note) and moves upward by 2 whole steps, a half step, 3 whole steps, and one half step until it reaches the octave note (8 notes higher). By selecting the root, 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale we create a major chord (also known as a triad -- a 3-note chord).
There are only 12 different major chords:
3 of the major chords were made of all white keys: C F G.
3 of the major chords were made of white keys on the outside, with a black key in
the middle: D E A.
3 of the major chords were like an Oreo cookie? Black on the outside, white on the inside: Db Eb Ab.
That only leaves 3 major chords, one of which is all black, and one of which is white, black, black, and the other the reverse -- black, white, white. Gb (all black) B (white, black, black) Bb (black, white, white).


And that's it.
Here they are in that order:
Major chords composed of all white keys:
C major chord: C, E, G
F major chord: F, A, C
G major chord: G, B, D
Major chords composed of white keys on the outside with a black key in the center:
D major chord: D, F#, A
E major chord: E, G#, B
A major chord: A, C#, E
Major chords composed of black keys on the outside with a white key in the center: Db major chord: Db, F, Ab
Eb major chord: Eb, G, Bb
Ab major chord: Ab, C, Eb
Major chords left over:
Gb major chord (all black keys): Gb, Bb, Db
Bb major chord: Bb,
D, F B major chord: B, D#, F#

All these chords shown above are in "root position"; that is, the root, or name of the chord, is on the bottom of the chord. In a subsequent article we will take up the other positions in which we can play chords: inversions.
So why do I need to learn the major chords?
The answer is simple: all other chords are formed by altering one or more notes of a major chord. So once you know major chords, it's easy to find minor, diminished, augmented, and extended chords.
So to find a minor chord, all we need to do is lower the 3rd of each chord 1/2 step. So to make the C major chord into a C minor chord, we just need to lower E (the 3rd of the chord) 1/2 step to Eb.
So C minor chord is C, Eb, G
Here are the rest of the minor chords:
F minor chord: F, Ab, C
G minor chord: G, Bb, D
D minor chord: D, F, A
E minor chord: E, G, B
A minor chord: A, C, E
Db minor chord: Db, Fb, Ab (Fb is the same as E)
Eb minor chord: Eb, Gb, Bb
Ab minor chord: Ab, Cb, Eb (Cb is the same as B)
Gb minor chord: Gb, Bbb, Db (Bbb is the same as A)
B minor chord: B, D, F#
Bb minor chord: Bb, Db, F
Learn them well, as you will be playing them all of your life in countless songs.
To see all the minor chords illustrated, please go to: www.playpiano.com/101-tips/4-minor-chords.htm

Christmas Carols You Can Play this Christmas With Only 3 Chords!

Christmas Carols You Can Play this Christmas With Only 3 Chords!

Did you know that there are literally thousands of songs you can play if you know just 3 chords?It's true. Songs from "Amazing Grace" to "Cum Ba Ya" to "Happy Birthday" to "On Top Of Old Smoky", "My Country 'Tis of Thee", "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", "God Bless America" and countless others.

But there are also Christmas Carols that you can learn to play this Christmas if you know, or are willing to learn, three simple chords.So what are these chords?In any given key, there are 3 "family members" that are residents of that key -- the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord. They are far and away the most likely chords to occur in any given key.For example, if I am playing in the Key of C, and the first chord is the C chord and I have to guess what the next chord is, I would guess that it would be either the F chord or the G chord. Why? Because those are the other "family members." So we have narrowed the odds a great deal just by knowing who the members of the family are.So how could I tell whether it should be F or G?If the melody is a "B", then the chord is probably a G chord. Why? Because "B" is in the G chord, but is not in the F chord.If the melody is a "A", than I would guess that the chord is F. Why? Because "A" is in the F chord, but is not in the G chord.You can also just match one of the three chords to the melody to see if it sounds right. If it doesn't, try another of the 3 chords. It won't take long before you get the knack of matching chords to the tune of a song.Does that mean that there are always just 3 chords in a song? No, but there are literally hundreds of songs that are made of just 3 chords.Here are a few Christmas Carols you can play with just 3 chords:

O Christmas TreeAngels We Have Heard On HighSilent Night Away In A MangerJoy To The WorldDeck The Halls
Hark! The Herald Angels SingI Heard The Bells On Christmas DayGo, Tell It On The Mountain O Come, O Come Immanuel Star Of The EastThe First NoelThe Holly And The Ivy While Shepherds Watched Their FlocksGod Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Can you use other chords in these carols? Of course. And they will probably sound fuller if you do. But you can "get by" with just 3 chords -- the family chords in whatever key you want to play them in.Here are the primary chords (the family chords) of all the major keys (remember that the primary chords are the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord based on the scale of that particular key):

Key of C: C, F, GKey of G: G, C, DKey of D: D, G, AKey of A: A, D, EKey of E: E, A, BKey of B: B, E, F#Key of F: F, Bb, CKey of Bb: Bb, Eb, FKey of Eb: Eb, Ab, BbKey of Ab: Ab, Db, EbKey of Db: Db, Gb, AbKey of Gb: Gb, Cb, Db

Do you have to know all these chords in all these keys?No.You can choose to play in just one key, or just a few keys.But what you MUST know is the 3 chords in whatever key you want to play in! That meansthat the stark beginner can learn 3 chords in just a few minutes, and be able to play along withthousands of tunes, because most folk songs, hymns, country songs, and many rock songs just use the 3 basic chords. That's why people who know zilch about music can pick up a guitar or sit down at a piano or keyboard, learn 3 chords, and chord along while singing everything from “Silent Night" to "Joy To The World" to..........................well, you get the idea.Go thou and do likewise. It's not too late -- Christmas comes every year right on schedule!
For an in-depth course in playing Christmas Carols, please go to:


http://www.playpiano.com/musical-courses/christmas/ChristmasCarols.html

You will love it -- and it will be a great gift to yourself that will last as long as you play every Christmas!

How To Play The Piano Using "Shorthand" -- Chord Symbols -- Instead of Reading the Full Score

Fm7 Bb7 Ebm6 Edim7

Most people who took piano lessons as a kid, including me, grew up learning to read music exactly as it is written on the printed page. Being able to read music is a valuable skill, and I am delighted I learned that skill at an early age.
But there is a downside to only being able to read music without understanding what you are reading. A couple real-life examples illustrate the point:
What happens when you are playing and your sheet music slips off the piano and onto the floor? Unless your name is Victor Borge and you can turn the situation into comedy, you will probably find the situation extremely embarrassing. I have seen it happen several times to pianists who play well but who don't know how to improvise, and it's not a pretty site. It happened to me once years ago as well. I was accompanying a singer and someone opened a side door, letting a gust of wind sweep into the auditorium and right across my piano. The sheet music scattered onto the stage and a couple pieces blew off the stage. If I hadn't understood the music and had a grasp of it's harmonic form, I would have had to stop, pick up the music, get it back in order, and so forth, delaying the soloist and the performance. As it turned out I had several people ask me how I kept playing without the music in front of me. I replied that I knew the chord progressions of the song, so was able to "wrap the chords around the singer" and therefore keep the song going.
So what are chord symbols, and how do they work?
Chord symbols are a shorthand way of writing what is going on harmonically in a song. For example, if I were to write the chord symbols of the first line of What Child Is This? (also known as Greensleeves and several other titles) in the key of Am, I would write:
Am G F E7 -- which corresponds to the first line of the song and would appear directly above the melody line in the treble clef, so all the pianist would need to do would be to read the melody (tune) of the song -- not all the supporting notes.
I think you can see that once you know a few chords this would be infinitely easier to remember than the entire score of the song. Not only that, but that chord progression -- A, G, F, E7 -- repeats several times during the song, so once you know the form of the song, you have a huge advantage over someone who is chained to the written music and has no idea about the logic of the song.
So how does a person learn this "musical shorthand"? It's no secret -- there are books galore on learning chords, plus web sites that teach chords, or you could even pick up a chart of chords in your local music store.
Then buy a "fake book" -- a songbook with hundreds or even thousands of songs, each song showing just the melody of the song with the chord symbols listed above it. Each song alone would be known as a "lead sheet", but cumulatively the collection of songs is known as a "fake book". Then every day play a dozen or so songs just with the melody in your right hand and the chord in your left hand. It will sound barren at first, but you're learning how it works.
After a couple weeks of that, instead of playing the melody in your right hand, sing the melody (doesn't matter at all how it sounds) and use your right hand to break up the notes of the chord you are playing in your left hand. Once you get the hang of it, you can start breaking up the chord in both hands and experimenting with various rhythm patterns.
I am not saying it's easy; I am saying it's fun and exciting and that it is worth it many times over!

http://www.playpiano.com/Articles/16-shorthandchordsymbols.htm

http://piano-music-chords.com/Duanes-students-only/index-of-good-stuff.htm

The Immense Popularity of the Piano Continues To This Day...

The Immense Popularity of the Piano

Every since about 1709 when Christofori announced that he had invented an instrument to upscale the harpsichord, which plays all at one volume level -- no soft or loud -- that played both soft and loud -- which he appropriately named the "pianoforte" (which means "soft-loud" -- later the name was shorted to just "piano") -- people throughout the world have been entranced with the harmonic sound of the piano - it's richness and fullness in enabling musicians to play many notes at once or in rapid succession.

(An excellent history of the piano may be found at http://www.uk-piano.org/history/piano-tuner-history.html )

Most instruments are not solo instruments in the sense that they require an accompanianist, but not so with the piano. It can play alone as well as with combos, orchestras, or whatever. It's unique sound qualities make it the first choice in musical instruments for millions of folks the world over.

Because of that fact, multitudes of people around the world have purchased pianos and continue to purchase pianos in hopes of mastering the "musical monster with 88 ivory teeth". Some of the dominant manufacturers are Steinway, Yamaha, Baldwin, Kawaii, Bosendorfer and many others. Pianos come in various shapes and sizes, including:

Grand Pianos:

Parlor Grand. Size 4'5" to 5'5"

Baby Grand. Size 5'0" to 6'5"

Medium Studio Grand. Size 5'6" to 6'5"

Semi-Concert Grand. Size 6'6" to 8'0"

Concert Grand. Most concert grands are 9' in length

Upright Pianos:

Spinet. Size 35" to 39" tall.

Console. 40" to 44" tall.

Studio: 45" to 47" tall.

Professional. 48" to 52" tall.

Every since the invention of the piano, parents have signed their children up for piano lessons in hope they would become the next Mozart, or a least be able to entertain family and friends. But for every 100 kids that start piano lessons, probably less than 20% or so actually continue with the lessons long enough to play decently. Still, it is a good education in music, and certainly good for developing self-discipline and focus.

To really master piano playing, a beginning student must gradually learn many different disciplines and aspects of music including: sight-reading sheet music (or the score of a classical piece); fingering of scale passages and chord formations; keyboard chords, from major chords to minor chords to augmented chords to diminished chords to 7th chords and more; music theory, including major scales, minor scales, whole-tone and chromatic scales, and the "church modes", plus some specialty scales such as the Mediterranean scale, the blues scale, and so on; the tonic note or tonic tone, triads, arpeggios, the concept of key (key of C, key of Eb, key of F#, etc.) unisons, intervals, inversions, chords -- both primary and secondary, figured bass, chord symbols; dynamics and dynamic markings such as sforzando, presto, largo, allegro, etc, pedaling, body position, ear-training, music appreciation, a study of the great composers such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, etc., interpretation, arranging, and a host of related subjects in the harmony and music theory areas.

This often involves years of learning at home with a teacher ( sometimes supplemented by online music lessons) and numerous music books, chord charts, fingering diagrams and musical scores. Meanwhile the student learns to play songs and classical pieces galore that contribute to the warmth of the home and the enjoyment of the family.

And if the student fails to become another Brubeck or Garner, he or she has still benefited tremendously in terms of music education, appreciation, the ability to concentrate, and many other qualities that flow out of having taken piano lessons. Plus he or she has brought the sound of music into their parent's home, and hopefully will continue with it when they form their own family.

http://www.playpiano.com/catalog.htm

Piano lessons galore...

Piano lesson courses galore that teach how to improvise -- all styles of improvisation including jazz, rock, gospel, new age music and more. Piano instruction that shows you how to play piano sheet music as a map, instead of having to sight read the printed music as it is written. By learning how to do this, you can create your own free piano sheet music by creating a song and then notating it in a music software program such as Finale using piano tabs, piano chords, and chord symbols. Learn to play piano notes by the fist-full by learning piano chording music styles. Learn to play the piano, learn to read piano music, learn piano songs from classical music to popular music. Learning piano and music notes is one of the most fun things you can do. Piano lessons online using major chords, minor chords, 7th chords, and all kinds of chord progressions. Learn to play the piano music of your dreams using piano chords & piano chording techniques!

http://www.playpiano.com/catalog.htm

Adults Only Piano Lessons!

Play Piano ...Adult Piano Lessons on CD & DVD


Piano playing for the thinking adult who wants to understand what they are playing when they play piano music!
Learn chords galore & how to weave them into chord progressions.

Dear Intelligent Adult:
Did you know that music is based on natural "laws" -- like gravity -- and by learning to understand how those natural laws work we can actually understand what we are doing when we play -- we don't have to be at the mercy of what someone else has written on a piece of music.
How many of these facts do you know about music & piano playing? Test yourself and then check the answers at the bottom of the page:
Did you know that by learning just 3 chords you can play hundreds of songs?
Did you know that there are only 12 major keys you can play in, but you only really have to master one key to play most popular songs?
Did you know that it is possible to easily match any melody note (tune) to a chord, so you can harmonize any note?
Did you know that Beethoven's Fur Elise and the blues song "Summertime" uses the exact same chords for the theme of the song?
Did you know that it is quite possible to predict what chord comes next in a song with accuracy approaching 85%?
Did you know you can use the same chords to play boogie, blues, new age, gospel, pop, rock, jazz, country - anything except classical music? (And even some classics!)
Did you know that by coming in through the backdoor of piano playing -- chords -- you can start making wonderful and satisfying sounds on the piano in just a few days instead of a few years -- even if you don't know Middle C from Tweedle Dee?
Did you know there is a guy up in Oregon who will teach you all this stuff by mailing you CD's and DVD's along with whatever printed material is necessary? These are piano lessons for adults -- thinking adults who want to understand what they are doing when they play the piano -- not play by rote.
And did you know that if you believe NONE of the above, you can still sign up for a free 39 week email newsletter on "Piano Chords And Chord Progressions!" so you can see for yourself that everything above is true?
Answers to piano playing music questions:
True. That's because there are just 3 primary chords in any key -- like family members: Mom, Dad, Child. Get to know those 3 and you've got it.
True. It's like languages. It's great to be able to speak several, but you can get by with just one. I'd love to speak other languages, but I can get by with just English.
True. Every note is part of several different chords. So it is easy to harmonize any song once you know the secret.
True. Yep. They both use the A minor chord and the E7 chord in their themes. (Click here and hear me prove it.)
True. I know that's hard to believe, but remember that music is based on math. Once you understand a thing called the "Circle of 4ths" it's a piece of cake. In fact, I can tell you right now that 85% of the time the G chord comes directly after the D7 chord. So next time you run into the D7 chord, you have an educated guess of 85% that the next chord will be some form of the G chord. (G, G7 etc.) If you're into amazing your friends, that'll do it!
True. Apply different rhythms to the same chords, and you have many styles of music! With the very same chords I can play boogie, jazz, rock, pop, gospel, new age, ragtime.
True. Make me prove it by clicking here.
True. He's been teaching intelligent piano playing since he was 25, and you may be able to tell by the photo that he's not 25 anymore. He's been around the block and it shows. His courses don't screw around with silly drills. He teaches understanding -- adult piano lessons for thinking adults.
True. OK, you skeptic. Click here to sign up for the 39-week course and prove it to yourself. It's free. Should you not like it (GASP! -- that's hard to imagine!) you can unsubscribe anytime. And for those who believe -- you should sign up too.

http://www.playpiano.com/piano-lessons-for-adults.htm

Crash Course In Exciting Piano Playing

Here's a review of our "Crash Course" by a jazz site.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/entity.php?id=6438

How To Play "Chord" Guitar

How To Play "Chord" Guitar

http://www.chord-guitar-music.com/