Learn Piano Chords – Shortcuts To Studying Chords

Whether you are learning to play the piano by ear or through the formal instruction of a piano teacher, there are some things that you can’t play it without, piano chords, for one. In this article, we will provide you with some tips on how to learn piano chords easier.

First, know the piano keys.

Despite the number of the keys on your piano, there are actually only two types – the white and the black keys. The white keys correspond to natural notes, which correspond to the 7 letters of the music alphabet – A, B, C, D, E, F, and G – and the black ones are for the accidentals or the sharp and flat notes, denoted by the signs # and b. Whereas the natural notes produce original notes, the accidentals are the slightly modified versions of naturals. These produce slightly lower or higher tunes depending on their position relevant to a natural note.

In music theory, the black keys basically give out pitches that are half as high or as low as the original natural notes they modify. Once you become familiar with what each of the keys do, you’ll be able to easily manipulate the chords of a specific music.

Second, understand the terminologies used in piano music.

What is so difficult about reproducing the piano chords or playing them is the fact that there are so many musical theories behind them. The easiest perhaps is the definition of the word chord itself.

By definition, the word ‘chord’ refers to any group of 3 or 4 notes that create a specific tune; these are player as a group. There are actually several different types of chord including major, minor and dominant seventh. This may seem a bit difficult to understand already, but know that it only gets more harder from here. How about familiarizing yourself with the various scales as well as the other rudiments of piano music.

The good thing is, if you want to skip the more difficult part, you can always try to memorize the components of each chord.

Third, know the formula for each chord group.

There is actually no immediate need to memorize all the chords used in piano. It is doubtful, in fact, that even the experienced pianist out there have these memorized all chords by rote. There are actually 2 reasons why you shouldn’t waste your brain power on memorizing all chords – first, there are about a hundred different types of chords and second, out of the hundreds of piano chords, there are only a handful that you will be using on a regular basis.

The best way to know learning all piano chords, therefore, is to know how they are constructed. Yes, there are actually specific for creating individual types of chord.

Major chords, for example, are usually composed of three to four keys or notes. These are constructed using the formula – root key, 4 halftones and 3 halftones. Note that a halftone is the least possible interval between two notes (in piano, it can be simplified into two keys). In the piano, you can easily recognize this as the distance between two keys, for example: distance between C and C#, C# and D, D and D#, and D# and E. Find the keys that comprise the C Major chord, find the root key, which could be any C key on the keyboard, the key four halftones down to its right and the key 3 halftones down to the prior key.

You see, if you know these things, specially the formula for each chord, it will be easier for you to learn piano chords.

There are many ways to learn piano chords. To learn more about the shortcuts and ‘proper’ methods of learning all the useful chords, check out the helpful resources on website.

Technorati Tags: learn chords, learn piano chords, learning piano chords, piano chords