Learn Piano Online Play By Ear - Start With Just A Few Chords![]() Learn Piano Online Play Piano By Ear - On this subject of playing piano by ear, I would like to suggest to the beginner that you begin with songs that only consist of a few chords, preferably the primary chords. (A short list of such songs is contained in my little guidebook that many of you are familiar with, and that tool also holds you by the hand when it comes to finding those primary chords in the 12 major keys) Here's why I make this suggestion:: Those three chords form that "backbone" of any major key. As you focus on songs that only consist of these few chords, you will soon be in touch with the value of recognizing that most songs, in general, gravitate to those three chords. Allowing your ears to be subjected to songs that consist primarily of those few chords will train them to recognize them more readily, even when listening to songs of a more complex harmonic nature. Keep in mind that this does not limit one to listening to songs of the "nursery rhyme" variety. On the contrary. One of the beautiful characteristics of much of the Beatles' music was, in addition to writing great lyrics, their ability to make the most of just a few chords. An example of this would be Let It Be. Here we have four chords played in a fashion that many of us never get tired of listening to. Keep listening more and more, and those primary chords start to become so pronounced that you can predict them with unerring certainty. By getting yourself to listen to these songs that put these primary chords at the forefront of your "listening antennae," you are doing yourself justice when it comes to taking your ability to play piano by ear to higher levels. Go ahead and listen to Let It Be over and over again. In that recording, you will hear the following chords played over and over again: Cmaj Amin Fmaj Gmaj Go to your piano or keyboard and start singing that melody. When you begin singing (or humming), the first chord is Cmaj. Continue until you sense that it's time for a chord change. You have three chords to choose from our list. Continue the process thoughout the song (or proceed as fas as you wish to) Experiment using the process of trial and error... and keep it fun! I suggested singing or humming as a start because it allows you to focus your actual piano playing on the chords, allowing you to listen more closesly. However, you can transfer that melody to those keys whenever you like. Do this with other songs consisting of only a few chords. When it comes to training your musical ears, it doesn't matter if you're playing Jingle Bells or Let It Be or another tune... it's the listening and duplication that matters... the actual process is what counts. If playing piano by ear has ever been a mystery to you, realize right here and now that it doesn't have to be. Take steps... little steps... one by one... before you know it, you'll be amazing yourself as well as those around you! Remember... Always... ALWAYS... PLAY WITH PASSION! Musically, Dave PS The guidebook mentioned above is also part of a much larger Play-Piano-By-Ear collection that you may want to look into here ( for a FREE email course on the topic of Playing Piano By Ear, click here ) ( to obtain 200 piano lesson videos, 500 audios, and 10 eBooks at an amazing price, click here ) =================================================================== Dave Longo is the creator and owner of PianoAmore.net, a site devoted to showing the adult piano student how to unleash "The Creative Genius Within." Reach your musical potential by taking advantage of the many piano learning tools at the site. =================================================================== Return to Piano Articles Go To Learn Piano Online Home Page |