http://pianochordmethod.com

WE HAVE MOVED!

I decided to move this blog to a domain.

It can now be found at http://pianochordmethod.com

Slash Chords

A confusing chords type to come across is the slash chord. It looks like this on a chord chart -

Here, the A/Ab is the slash chord. Basically, reading from left to right ( as we do in western culture ), you play the first chord in your right hand and then the other side you play the note only as a bass. To visualise it would appear like this:
 

 

Obviously you can't play all these notes with one hand. You would play the chord in your right hand and the bass note (the right side of the / ) in your left hand. It might also be effective to play an octave in the left hand as well.

Playing Chords with a Chord Chart

Now you have a basic understanding of how to construct chords all you now need to do is put it into practice by playing a song.

A popular website to get chords for all your favourite songs is http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

The site formats the chords like this:

Em                 G                            
All around me are familiar faces

D                A                               
Worn out places, worn out faces

All you need to do is play each chord as the song goes on and there you have it! You can play chords!

I Recommend

Mariocast!

This guy knows his music. Check out one of his more recent podcasts on music theory here:

Feel free to check out his youtube channel also on the link for product reviews, online music lessons and piano tutorials.

Is Piano Theory Important?

Yes .. and no.

As a self-taught pianist, I have over the years come to appreciate music in all it's forms, including the theory side. It has really showed me how it all fits together not just in a musical sense but expresses pure logic both in and out of the musical world. Having said this I would greatly incourage anyone to one day learn music theory in all its aspects, however, if your just starting out you don't need to know much at all.

Music theory isn't necessary (there I said it) for those who are just wanting to learn there favourite songs or tunes on the piano. I see it more as an extension of music that people grow to appreciate as they appreciate music more. 

Because of this I created pianochordmethod.blogspot.com

Although there are many methods of learning piano out there I thought the methods I relate are simple and easy to understand with a little practice. I intend to allow the site to grow more and more in the future.

Minor Chords

Minor chords

Once you have an understanding of major chords, minor chords will be easier to learn. The fundamental difference between these to types of chords is that minor chords sound a lot 'unhappier' than major chords, drowning almost. Nonetheless, there is a formula!

To play a minor chord you play the root note, skip 2 keys and play the next note and finally, skip 3 keys and play the next note.

This is the Minor Chord Formula!

Root + Skip 2 + Skip 3

 Notice how this is the reverse of the major chord!

For example, choose any note to start, in this case C:

So here we have played the root note C, skipped 2 notes and played the next note Eb, and finally skipped 3 notes and played the next note G. This gives us a C Minor Chord.

Following this formula will always give you the minor chord for which ever root note you choose. For instance:

This is a D Minor Chord. D is the root, skip 2 notes and play F, then skip 3 notes and play A.

The best way to become familiar with this method is to practice practice practice! 

Remember: Root note + Skip 2 notes and play the next one + Skip 3 notes and play the next one

Major Chords

Finally! Chords! 

Chords are what make up a song. All songs can and usually do have what is called a chord progression, which is simply a number of chords played in a sequence to create a song.

Basic chords are made up of 3 notes.

 To play any song all you need to know are two basic types of chords - Major and Minor.

Major chords

To play a major chord you play the root note, skip three keys and play the next note, then skip two keys and play the next note.

This is the Major Chord Formula!

Root + Skip 3 + Skip 2

For example, first choose a note, the note you choose will be the name of the chord. In this case, a C chord.

 So here we have chosen the note C, skipped 3 notes and played the next note E and finally skipped 2 notes and played the next note G. This has given us a C Major Chord.

Following this formula will always give you the major chord for which ever root note you choose. For instance:

 

First is the D note therefore this will be a D major chord (NB the first note is not always the name of the chord however for this basic chord method it certainly is easier to think like this for the moment)

 This chord is an Eb ( E Flat ) major chord.

The best way to become familiar with this method is to practice practice practice! 

Remember: Root note + Skip 3 notes and play the next one + Skip 2 notes and play the next one