How To Play Chords On Piano

May 22nd, 2010

How To Play Chords On Piano

Those that really want to learn piano must learn how to play chords on piano first and foremost. It’s not just necessary but it will make learning the piano much easier. Even if you have little time to practice, chords should be given priority over anything else. They are the foundations of playing piano.

A good step by step tutorial is an essential starting point so you can further build up your skill and knowledge. Nowadays there are excellent videos available such as the Rocket Piano learning kit. This is an extremely powerful tool for complete novices and those looking to improve or expand on their knowledge.

Learning the individual notes should take no time at all and since you will be learning chords, they should begin to become second nature to you. Contrary to what most beginners think learning how to play chords on piano does not take years and years. But it all depends on how you learn to play the piano.

When you have professional instruction it’s much easier to learn the individual chords. It might get monotonous playing the same chord repeatedly but it will help improve technique and make it habitual so that you can start playing chords naturally. Your hands will know the positioning without conscious thought.

As soon as you’ve mastered how to play piano chords you can begin to play from music sheets. If you dedicate time in learning chords you can start playing songs in a matter of weeks. The first note that anyone is usually taught on the piano is C. This is the starting note and there are 7 in total.

The C chords will also be the first that you will learn. Knowing how to play chords on piano, even just three is enough to play twelve bar blues. So you will be playing piano chords songs sooner than you think. You might find that to start with, your playing sounds mechanical and lacks rhythm. But like all things, the more you practice the better you’ll get.

To help you play with better rhythm, use a metronome to help keep your timing. Some people prefer to count in their heads or out loud when playing the piano, but do whichever works the best for you. Soon you will get into the flow of rhythm without the need of any timekeeping device.

Piano Chords Tutorial

May 15th, 2010

Piano Chords Tutorial

When you first look at a piano or keyboard you will notice that there are a lot of keys, eighty-eight in fact. To a beginner, the sheer number of keys can make learning how to play piano chords seem like an arduous task. With a good piano chords tutorial like Rocket Piano it really doesn’t have to be though.

But first, let’s take a look at the keys. You’ll notice that there is in actual pattern with the white and black keys. This pattern is no coincidence and it will make learning piano chords a lot simpler. Hopefully, by the end of this quick piano chords tutorial, you will have a better understanding and of chords and even be able to find notes on your piano.

The white keys dominate a piano and they are often referred to as ‘naturals.’ You should see a reoccurring pattern with the black keys. The black keys are like accents and are known as sharps and flats and are grouped in twos or threes. From left to right of the piano they alternate in groupings.

Once you get used to this pattern, it can help you quickly locate notes with ease. Fortunately there are only 7 notes to learn A to G even though there are 88 keys. Once you get to grips with this fact, you won’t feel so overwhelmed. Upon closer inspection you might also notice that there is a pattern every 12 keys (including black keys). This is because the piano keys are arranged in twelve notes.

In the 12-not pattern there are 7 white keys and 5 black keys (a group of two and three). Now, to learn the first note in this mini piano chords tutorial! Every instance of the note C is located below the first black key that is grouped in a two. Now that you know where notes C are you’ll be able to locate notes A, B, D, E, F and G.

To put it simply chords are basically a group of notes that are played together. More often than not they are made up of three of more notes. When it comes to styles of music, knowing chord progressions is essential. They are basically the patterns that make certain styles of music what they are. Stay tuned for more advanced piano tutorials.

Learn Piano Chords

May 5th, 2010

Learn Piano Chords

Once you learn piano chords it’s great to be able to use them in your own melodies. But it’s getting to the level in which you feel comfortable and confident enough that often newcomers struggle with. Learning how to play piano chords can seem like a daunting task when there seems to be such a vast number to learn.

The piano chords are enough to make your head spin, but then there are the alterations to consider and voicings. The truth is learning the piano is challenging but its part of the fun. If it was that easy to learn piano chords there would be a lot of pianists out there. Being able to play the piano well is a tremendous skill, but it should not put you off from wanting to learn it.

Although it can be tedious to learn piano chords, there are a few steps to make the learning process a lot quicker. Many piano beginners think of beautiful and artful pieces when they think of the piano. But the chords they have in mind, while they sound professional are merely variations of simpler chords.

You see, once you master the basic chords by practicing daily you can move onto the more difficult ones with ease. You can start from the left and play all the basic chord inversions until you reach the end, doing this as quickly as possible. Memorizing chords can be tricky, but you will not have to spend all your time remembering them.

The point is to learn a bit at a time. Trying to squeeze everything into your head in a short period of time is not going to be effective. You’ll only have vaguely remembered and mastered a bunch of chords vaguely instead of getting good at a few. It’s the same with learning anything and once you become adept it one area you can begin to expand.

When you study and practice playing chords for a particular song, you will only need to spend your time on the piano chords needed. Don’t worry about forgetting how to play others. Once you can play a song smoothly you’ll be surprised how easy it is to add alterations quickly and effortlessly.

This can be a huge confidence booster and really help you learn piano chords quickly. After all, if you’re not enthused about playing, your attention and focus is gone, which means that a lot of learning power is lost.