Questions about guitar chords & keyboard chords...

I have had quite a few interesting questions recently come in via email. Here are a few that I thought I would share, as they might throw some light on some areas of foggy thinking.

Q:"I have a friend who says he is learning piano with guitar chords. Is that possible?"

A: Yep. Chords are chords, no matter what instrument you play them on. The F major chord, for example, is always made of 3 notes: F, A, and C -- in any order. So if I play those 3 notes on the guitar and on the piano, the only difference will be the tone color of the instrument and the pitch. You can learn chords for both instruments from a piece of software called the "Side-by-Side Guitar & Piano Chord Chart" at www.guitarpianochordchart.com

Q: "I know you sell piano courses on DVD, but I am looking for a DVD to learn keyboard playing. Where can I find DVD's for keyboards?"

A: There's no difference between a piano and a keyboard as far as learning chords and styles and so on. The only difference is in the touch -- the feel -- of the keyboard, and of course the sound it produces. So lots of people take my courses and learn on their portable keyboards, and later move to the piano.

Q:"Do you teach chords for keyboards?"

A: That, of course, has the same answers as the last two questions: chords are chords, and keyboard chords are the same as piano chords (or organ chords, or sythesizer chords, or...)