Easy Piano Lessons

There are 88 keys on the piano keyboard. Most pianists use about 1/3 of this number most of the time. Why?

Well, if you’re playing sheet music, the answer lies in how the composer used the piano. If you’re creating your own music, the answer lies in experimenting with the possibilities.

Now, most of my own music is played near the middle of the keyboard. It’s not planned that way but this is the area of the piano I naturally gravitate towards when sitting down to play. Of course, I do and have used most notes available on the piano and it would be a shame not to. But I allow the music to tell me where it wants to go. If I sit down with a predetermined agenda to play high notes, then I am not listening to my intuition.

Although I have to admit that in Lesson 5: “Winter Scene” I wanted to create a crisp wintry sound so I started further up the keyboard with the left hand and played higher register notes in my right. But most times, I will let my intuition guide me and 9 times out of 10 begin at the middle of the keyboard.

There is nothing wrong or uncreative about this at all. In fact, it doesn’t really matter where you begin because once started, the heart and mind work together as one bringing you the ideal music. It is the only true music that could come out of you because you listen to what your heart wants to play. If you play a few bass notes to begin with fine. Want to start at the high end of the piano, OK.

The key here is authenticity. Some compositions and improvisations sound contrived because they were – that is they were thought up. There really is nothing wrong per se with this approach – as long as you let the music guide you. For example, you may decide you want to do as I did and create a certain mood piece. However, once you get the general idea for the music, let it guide you to where it wants to go – that is, listen, listen, listen for what is coming next. This approach never fails and will most always yield good results.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

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How to comp chords – comping chords on the piano

I got this question from a student:

“I am struggling to comp rhythmically & unpredictably while improvising or playing from a lead sheet. I can comp chords in my left hand to a pattern (i.e., 4 to the floor or on the 1 & 3, etc) but I struggle to mix up the comping especially when improvising. I have used some of your comping patterns from the Blues Lessons as a start and then try to mix & match different patterns, but I find it very difficult to comp without being locked to a fixed pattern or combination of patterns. Any suggestions for helping to overcome this problem?” – Adam K.

This is definitely one of the more complicated aspects of playing the piano. It is relatively “easy” to play a chord in the left hand, hold it down, and improvise with the right hand. However, as soon as you try adding any type of rhythm to that left hand chord, the time seems to fall apart. So, let’s go through some ideas that will help loosen up your left hand.

First, keep control of where you are in the measure. For this example, let’s say that we are in 4/4 time…four beats per measure. It is extremely important that while comping, you do not add or remove beats from the measure. This is where a metronome or play-along track is helpful. I’ve heard students rush the time or drag because they were overly focused on comping. The lesson…the time comes first!

Second, keep your chords simple to start. Try starting with only the root and seventh of the chord, a R7 chord. Or, just the root and third, a R3 chord. So, for C7, this would be C–Bb or C–E. Simple chords allow you to focus on what is important…the time.

Now is a good point to pause and discuss “concept breakdown”. You do not have to go far to find difficult-to-understand concepts in jazz piano. Comping is a perfect example. It seems easy, but it is not. Worst yet, it is the “seems easy” concepts that make it frustrating to learn and often cause students to throw their arms up in disgust. But, there is a solution!

Concept Breakdown is just that, a breakdown of difficult concepts in to easy to handle and easier to understand parts. To break down the concept of comping, I would consider its parts:

- Chord voicing – the notes of the chord and how they are arranged

- Number of chords per measure

- Tempo of the song

- Interaction with the right hand / soloist

- Rhythmic spontaneity

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Minor Chord Progression is a little more complicated than a chord progression in a major key because there are three forms of the minor scale. These three forms are called Natural minor, Harmonic minor and Melodic minor. In order to know which chords to use with these scales, you must first understand how they are constructed.

The “Natural Minor Scale” is formed by flatting the 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes of the major scale. For example, the “A” natural minor scale is: A B C D E F G A. The chords that result from this form of the minor scale must contain notes that are consistent with the notes in the scale. In other words, since the scale has no sharps or flats, the chords that result from the scale must also have no sharps or flats. When we build chords based on these scale tones, we get these chords: Am Bdim C Dm Em F G. Play these chords and you will see that they are made up entirely of “white keys”–no sharps or flats.

If we alter the notes in the Natural Minor scale, we must also alter the notes in the resulting chords, and we have different chords.

The “Harmonic Minor Scale” is formed by sharping the 7th note of the Natural Minor Scale. Thus the “A” Harmonic Minor Scale is: A B C D E F G# A .When we sharp the “G’s”, the chords resulting from the harmonic minor scale are: Am Bdim Caug Dm E F G#dim. Play these chords and you will see that whenever a “G” occurs in a chord, that G is sharp.

The “Melodic Minor Scale”, often known as the “Jazz Minor Scale” is formed by raising the 6th and 7th notes of the Natural Minor Scale. To continue with our examples in the key of “A”, the notes would be: A B C D E F# G# A. If we sharp the “F’s” and the “G’s”, the following chords would result: Am Bm Caug D E F#dim G#dim. It is important to understand that the Melodic minor scale takes this form when ascending, but reverts to the natural minor scale when descending. The chords, therefore, must reflect that change.

Transposing to other keys: In order to determine the chords for minor scales in keys other than “A” minor, you must know the key signatures of all of the major scales. Beginning musicians will often dismiss or postpone the memorizing of the key signatures in favor of more “exciting” musical pursuits. The key signatures, however, are the very BASIS of music construction. Memorize them NOW. It is not that difficult. Once you know the major scale key signature, you can follow the above described formulas to create all three forms of the minor scale in any key. Then just plug the names of the notes into the chord patterns outlined for the key of A minor.

I have created printable charts for all of the chords for the three forms of the minor scale in all 12 minor keys. These charts are written in both piano notation and guitar chord symbols. You can see them here: www.may-studio-music-lessons.com/minor-chord-progression.html

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