piano / keyboard

[sv_rory]

Is there anybody here who can play the piano or keyboard? i have started learning the keyboard and am getting slightly confused with the chords?

i have started reading a book i borrowed from the library and have been following it through, i can now play jingle bells using my right hand without looking at the keyboard. yay

can anybody advise me more on chords? as im too tight as a student to pay over £10 an hour for a lesson. Im only learning for fun so home taught should be ok i spose

[missyburd]

I can play random tunes and know where a C is but I tend to learn a tune by ear and play it over again and again till its stuck. I wouldn't say being able to play without having to look at the actual keyboard was the real aim of it, but it does make you feel better about it :p

I learnt to play guitar using a site on the net, there are some good ones about. However, I'm sure there are some experts on here to help you out :)

[arenalife]

Chords

There are only four types, Major (the nice sounding ones), Minor (the sad sounding ones), Diminished (severe doom, not used in popular music) and Augmented (unsettled, instant film soundtrack music, not used in general music). I know there's all the extensions but don't think about that for now.

To make a Major chord play the first, third and fifth notes of the regular Major scale together (so for C major play C E and G.

To make C minor flatten the third one note (semitone), to make C Diminshed flatten the fifth note too. To make C Augmented start with the C major chord again and sharpen the fifth note. That's it! No tricks or complication, to get a different chord, just start with a different scale (G, F whatever - exactly the same principle).

That's the meat and potatoes of it, then there's all the added notes you add to make the flavour different like the seventh note of the scale (Maj7 chord - jazzy) the flattened 7th note (7th chord - a leading note chord like in a hymn to let you know it's changing). Each added or altered note gives a different flavour, there's about 35 in all. See link for them, there's instructions on the right for which notes of the cale to play to get each one.

http://jmdl.com/howard/music/quick_crd_ref.html

Good luck

[sv_rory]

cheers!

i guess il have to keep practicing. im going to print this page off ;)

Chords

There are only four types, Major (the nice sounding ones), Minor (the sad sounding ones), Diminished (severe doom, not used in popular music) and Augmented (unsettled, instant film soundtrack music, not used in general music). I know there's all the extensions but don't think about that for now.

To make a Major chord play the first, third and fifth notes of the regular Major scale together (so for C major play C E and G.

To make C minor flatten the third one note (semitone), to make C Diminshed flatten the fifth note too. To make C Augmented start with the C major chord again and sharpen the fifth note. That's it! No tricks or complication, to get a different chord, just start with a different scale (G, F whatever - exactly the same principle).

That's the meat and potatoes of it, then there's all the added notes you add to make the flavour different like the seventh note of the scale (Maj7 chord - jazzy) the flattened 7th note (7th chord - a leading note chord like in a hymn to let you know it's changing). Each added or altered note gives a different flavour, there's about 35 in all. See link for them, there's instructions on the right for which notes of the cale to play to get each one.

http://jmdl.com/howard/music/quick_crd_ref.html

Good luck

[Ed]

Daughter has Grade 2 piano exam tomorrow. She has done lots of practice even on the boring scales and arpeggios. Am hoping for a really good pass. Violin Grade 3 soon too:-({|=

[Viney]

Verna is a grade 5 but although she bought a piano she never plays as she thinks shes rubbish. She plays by ear 99.9% of the time and its funny watching her read music. She can also play the flute!

Me, i just thump about playing hooks and rifts with one finger!!

[Supervox]

Chords

There are only four types, Major (the nice sounding ones), Minor (the sad sounding ones), Diminished (severe doom, not used in popular music) and Augmented (unsettled, instant film soundtrack music, not used in general music). I know there's all the extensions but don't think about that for now.

To make a Major chord play the first, third and fifth notes of the regular Major scale together (so for C major play C E and G.

To make C minor flatten the third one note (semitone), to make C Diminshed flatten the fifth note too. To make C Augmented start with the C major chord again and sharpen the fifth note. That's it! No tricks or complication, to get a different chord, just start with a different scale (G, F whatever - exactly the same principle).

That's the meat and potatoes of it, then there's all the added notes you add to make the flavour different like the seventh note of the scale (Maj7 chord - jazzy) the flattened 7th note (7th chord - a leading note chord like in a hymn to let you know it's changing). Each added or altered note gives a different flavour, there's about 35 in all. See link for them, there's instructions on the right for which notes of the cale to play to get each one.

http://jmdl.com/howard/music/quick_crd_ref.html

Good luck

Nice description - but . . .

. . . I'm guessing that your definitions of 'Popular music' & 'General music' are somewhat different to mine as Dims & Augs frequently crop up in a lot of stuff that I (attempt) to play !!

[ArtyLady]

Nice description - but . . .

. . . I'm guessing that your definitions of 'Popular music' & 'General music' are somewhat different to mine as Dims & Augs frequently crop up in a lot of stuff that I (attempt) to play !!

Agreed SV - I find I can apply alot of modal jazz chords/scales to different music genres :cool: :)

[ArtyLady]

Is there anybody here who can play the piano or keyboard? i have started learning the keyboard and am getting slightly confused with the chords?

i have started reading a book i borrowed from the library and have been following it through, i can now play jingle bells using my right hand without looking at the keyboard. yay

can anybody advise me more on chords? as im too tight as a student to pay over £10 an hour for a lesson. Im only learning for fun so home taught should be ok i spose

What is you are confused about? you wont be wanting anything more than to learn a few scales and arpegios in different keys at this stage so you can then apply it to some very simple music. Chords are just arpegios with the notes all played at once stacked on top of each other.

There are some "tune a day" type books that should get you started.

I wouldnt confuse yourself with anything as complex as aug and diminished yet - thats quite advanced stuff. hth :D

[ArtyLady]

Daughter has Grade 2 piano exam tomorrow. She has done lots of practice even on the boring scales and arpeggios. Am hoping for a really good pass. Violin Grade 3 soon too:-({|=

Good luck Eds Daughter!:D (remember the boring scales and arps will make you a better player!):cool:

[Ed]

Good luck Eds Daughter!:D (remember the boring scales and arps will make you a better player!):cool:

She made a few mistakes in B minor so the kind examiner allowed her to do it again. Seems to have gone very well:p I'm so fed up with Lohlein's 'Balletto', it'll be a relief to hear 'Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair' and 'O Mio Babbino Caro' which are for grade 3 violin:D

[rob13]

Learning the scales (Major & Minor first) is a good way to go on as it helps understanding further along the line. There is a range of books called "The complete Keyboard Player" which although dated and probably cheesy, theyre good to learn with as they increase in difficulty. If you're learning Piano, thats something different.
I passed all the exams but over the years have played less and less. Its not to say I dont remember it all, but I could do with a refresher course (Havent played regularly in over 4 years)

[instigator]

Learning the scales (Major & Minor first) is a good way to go on as it helps understanding further along the line. There is a range of books called "The complete Keyboard Player" which although dated and probably cheesy, theyre good to learn with as they increase in difficulty. If you're learning Piano, thats something different.
I passed all the exams but over the years have played less and less. Its not to say I dont remember it all, but I could do with a refresher course (Havent played regularly in over 4 years)

How different is that to a full size digital piano?

I bought a casio px-300 digital piano a while back but was so frustrated at the lack of depth in the books I had that I just stopped playing it. I also had no effin' idea if what I was playing was right, having never heard the tunes before. I was doing well too...:(

[rob13]

Full Size Digi piano is the same as a piano. Keyboard allows accompaniament in the left hand hence the use of chords. Not dissimilar to an Organ, however they also have pedals.