Valentina Lisitsa
Apr 2nd, 2008 by admin
Check this out!
I don’t know how to comment… I am speechless! She is simply fantastic!!!
One of the frequently asked questions concerning piano playing is: Which fingers should I use to play the notes?
In Piano Cheats, my answer is: It’s up to you. Really. What matters is how comfortable it is for you by using certain fingers. It should be as natural to you as possible. In formal piano training lessons, one is usually guided to use certain fingers to play certain notes in a piece of music, but these are guides only. They are not rules. If you can achieve all the intended effects of the piece of music — i.e., the sound, the speed, the volume, the consistency, etc. – by playing it YOUR way, even if you were to play with your feet, you have played it right!
I will update this list continually. All suggestions are welcome.
Chord
A combination of notes played simultaneously.
Key
A key is what you use to unlock something. In playing piano by chords, a key unlocks all the chords that you need for a song.
For instance, the 3 basic chords (I, IV and V chords) in the C key are: C (I), F (IV) and G (V). And if the key were F, then these 3 chords would be: F (I), Bb (IV) and C (V). And of course, being armed with the 3 basic chords, you can also derive the 3 minor chords (II m, III m and VI m), and many other chords in that key.
Octave
Two “doe” notes that are separated by one set of “re”, “me”, “fa”, “so”, “la”, “ti” notes in between.
Scale
A scale simply means a series of notes that comprise the “do”, “re”, “me”, “fa”, “so”, “la”, “ti” notes.
For example, a C major scale is made up of the C, D, E, F, G, A, B notes. That is, when you play these notes one after another in this order: C–D–E–F–G–A–B, you get the do–re–me–fa–so–la–ti sounds. In the same way, an F major scale is made up of F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E notes. That is, when you play F—G—A—Bb—C—D—E, you get the do—re—me—fa—so—la—ti sounds as well, but beginning with the F note.
There are different types of scales, the most common being the major scale and the minor scale. What we have seen above is the major scale. A minor scale differs only slightly from a major scale. The difference is on the 3rd and 6th notes of the scale, i.e., the “me” and the “la” notes. These two notes are flatter in the minor scale than in their corresponding major scale.
For example, a C minor scale is made up of the notes: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B. Similarly, an F minor scale is made up of F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, E. Note that when you compare these 2 minor scales with their corresponding major scales above, the 3rd (me) and the 6th (la) notes are flatter (technically speaking, that is referred to as being one “semi-tone” lower).
Transpose
Playing the same song in a different key. It may be a higher or lower key.
If you do not have any formal training in piano, you’ll likely find playing songs in any keys other than C difficult. It is tough enough to identify and learn the numerous different chords in one key at the first place, not to mention that there are 12 keys to learn!
Lucky you! There is such a button called “Transpose” on most keyboards and electronic pianos these days. With the use of this button, you can now play in any key. All you have to do is play all the songs in the C key, and let the button does the trick to ‘transpose’ what you play into other keys.
To transpose what you play in the key of C into the key of F, for example, simply choose “F” on your keyboard LCD screen after pressing the ‘Transpose’ button. That is for those of you who have such a screen on your sophisticated keyboard. J Some keyboards have a transpose setting instead that shows “-6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5, +6”. The default setting should be “0”. When you switch that setting to +1, then you are transposing what you play 1 step (semi-tone) higher. That means, if you play a C, the resulting sound will be a C#. Similarly, by setting that switch to –1, for example, transpose what you play 1 step (semi-tone) lower, so that playing a C will give you a B sound instead. Therefore, to play a song that is in F key using the transpose key, you need to set your switch to the +5 position.
If the steps to transpose that I have described above are different on your instrument, please check your user manual to find out more.
The 3 Minor Chords
Mar 22nd, 2008 by admin
The 3 Minor Chords
Didn’t I say that most songs could be played with just 3 chords? In fact, the 3 basic chords may be “tweaked” a little bit here and there to give us many more other chords! As for now, let’s look at 3 minor chords that can be derived from these 3 basic chords.
We have talked about playing a note or an octave with our left hand in my post called “The Left Hand” earlier. For example, for a C chord on the right hand, we would play a C note or a C octave with the left hand. Now, Let’s tweak this a little…
If you play a C chord with your right hand, and an A note or an A octave instead with the left hand, you will get an A minor7 chord, which sounds pretty much like an A minor chord. This is how we can play a minor chord without having to learn something totally new on our right hand. All you have to remember is that the A note on your left hand must be accompanied with the C chord on the right hand.
Similarly, you can play a D minor by playing a D note with the left hand accompanied by an F chord with your right hand. Playing an E note with your left hand together with a G chord with your right hand will give you an E minor.
Figure 1: A minor (Am)
Figure 2: D minor (or Dm)
Figure 3: E minor (or Em)
So, with that, we have derived the 3 minor chords, Am, Dm and Em from our 3 basic chords.
In the C key, D is the 2nd note (“re”). Therefore, the Dm chord is considered II minor (II m) of C key. E is the 3rd note (“me”) in the C key. Therefore, in the C key, Em chord is the III minor (III m). Similarly, as A is the 6th note (”la”), and therefore Am is considered the VI minor (VI m).
To recap…
VI minor chord (VI m) = 6th bass note (left hand) + 1st chord, I (right hand)
II minor chord (II m) = 2nd bass note (left hand) + 4th chord, IV (right hand)
III minor chord (III m) = 3rd bass note (left hand) + 5th chord, V (right hand)
Deriving the above 3 minor chords (II m, III m and VI m) this way allows us to quickly produce these chords in any key, without having to learn 3 new chords on the right hand. This is provided, of course, that we are familiar with the 3 basic (major) chords (I, IV, and V) of that key.
