An easy exercise to play piano by ear

In my studio students get to explore the art of playing piano by ear. One way is through improvisation.

Once we realize the role of chords in the structure of music, we can have fun playing our own rhythms and note combinations within the chords. This is a great way to get your “ear training”.

At the beginner level, we start with I, IV and V chords. In the key of C major that is the chord C (C, E, G), F (F, A, C) and G (G, B, D). If this doesn’t make sense to you, then check out my previous posts.

This exercise is with a metronome, or if you have a keyboard with a drum beat pattern, that’s even better!

Set the tempo to a medium to slow rate. Use a basic 4/4 beat. You need to be sure you can hear and feel the strong beat. The strong beat is the first beat (#1). This is beat where your left hand will play the chord. Start with the C chord.

Once you get the C chord playing on beat 1 consistently, let your body and mind think and feel the pulse of that strong beat. It is your anchor.

In your right hand you can start adding notes C, E, or G…one at a time. If your left hand starts to miss the pulse of beat 1, take the focus off your right hand. It is much more important to get the pulse of the left hand on beat one. Keep your right hand very simple at first. No need to be that busy. Start with only one or two notes in the right hand. Just simply keep the pulse going with the left hand chord on beat 1. You will eventually be able to add in more notes in the right hand. And, keep it easy by only using the notes in the chord…the C, E, or G.

Here is an example of a right hand combination with the rhythm ta, ta, ti ti, ta…that is 5 notes in the time of 4 beats….you could play C, E, G, G, E.

Once you feel secure playing around with the C chord, you can try going to the F chord (or the G chord). The important factor when moving on to more chords is to make sure your left hand keeps playing the chord on beat 1.

The second more important factor is to have fun while you’re doing it!

Should I pressure my child to take music lessons?

I wonder how many adults say to themselves…”I wish I had continued my music lessons….”. Is that you? Do you have regrets about quitting piano? Many adults wish they would have continued their lessons. But, this is easier said than done. The lessons were possibly boring or too challenging, and your parents maybe thought it was a waste of money because you didn’t practise enough. There are many reasons why kids quit music lessons.

Well, now as a parent you are faced with the same dilemma. You want your child to learn music, but you know the challenges ahead with practising and discipline. You don’t want to waste your money. You want your child to enjoy what they are doing.

What are the best steps you can take to engage your child in a life of learning to play music and music education.

1. Show them you are interested. When you sign them up for lessons, get involved. Stay for the lesson. Watch them learn. Watch them play. Learning to play music can be a lonely sport. It takes time and commitment from both of you.

2. Start when they are young, and make practising an everyday part of your life. My kids practise their music in the morning before the bus, and again at night before bed. We split it up because we find it too challenging to spend 20 to 30 minutes at the piano at one time. Your child may be different. Your child may have no problem sitting and practising for 20 minutes, but every child is different. You just need to figure out a practise schedule that works for both of you.

3. Keep communication with the teacher. You can’t expect your child to move forward on his own without knowing what the teacher is expecting from week to week. And, make sure your child likes his teacher. He may not like practising the scales she assigns……but does he like the teacher?

PROGRAMS

When deciding about music education consider the following programs that engage the child in the fun experience of learning music.

MUSIC PUPS This program is world-wide and orginates in Atlanta, Georgia. Pups is for babies to toddlers. The music is fabulous. You receive and CD and songbook for each musical collection. The sessions run for 10 weeks at a time. You can find a class here. www.themusicclass.com.

MUSIC FOR YOUNG CHILDREN This program is world-wide and originates in Canada. Yes, I teach the program, but that’s not why I recommend it. I recommend it because it is a fun way to teach children a piano and music lesson. If we can’t keep the “fun” in music then children are more likely to want to quit. If we can’t keep the “fun” in music, then you as a parent are more likely to quit. Let’s face it. Don’t you want your child to thank you when he grows up for all those music lessons you paid for? Every Music for Young Children teacher’s style is different, but the curriculum is the same……and it is fantastic! It is not just a piano lesson, it is a music lesson. These students can go on and understand any instrument they want to play. Children as young as 8 or 9 are learning their Circle of 5ths, intervals and rest replacement. This is unheard of with any other program. This is the only program in the world that teaches this level of music education to 8 and 9 year olds in a way they can understand it. And, yes, you mom, you will understand it too!!

You can look for a Music for Young Children teacher here at www.myc.com. They are all over the world. It really is a smart investment in your child’s future.

Do you have any comments? Are you familiar with Music for Young Children? Why not drop me a line….. Susan

3.

Learn to play piano by ear!

Learning to play an instrument by ear is no secret. Guitar players have been doing it forever. But somehow piano players have been left out. Instead, piano playing has mostly been associated with reading music. While this is a worthwhile venture and opens doors to learn to play any other musical instrument, playing piano by ear is a fabulous, yet-rare talent. You will be hard-pressed to find a teacher who can teach this way, and yet guitar teachers teach how to chord all the time.

The average person who plays the guitar usually started by simply being shown how to play a few chords. The melody line is sung with their singing voice.   Once a guitar player has mastered the I, IV and V chords with maybe the II and VI minor, they are set to play 1000’s of songs in any key they desire by simply moving their hand position higher on the guitar strings. Some players will use a capo for this. This is relatively easy because the “feeling” is the same in every key.

However, playing chords on the piano is more difficult than on a guitar, because on a piano you have to deal with an entirely “new” feeling everytime you want to play in a different key. Therefore, it takes a little more diligence and practise to learn the same I, IV and V chords in different key signatures. Creating rhythm on the piano is also more difficult than on the guitar, but with a few bits of knowledge, and some time to practise, you can be well on your way to playing piano by ear!

The very first thing I would suggest is to practise making major chords starting on every note of the piano. This means knowing the first, third and fifth note of a given scale (or key). For instance, in C major these notes are C, E and G. When played together they are called a major chord. Notice that the name of the chord is the first note of the scale. A lot of people who play by ear already know this because it is a familiar sound and it sounds good to them. Here is a trick to finding the first five notes of any major scale….tone, tone, semitone, tone….In C major, this is C, D, E, F, G……in D major this would be D, E, F sharp, G, A.   Then you simply play the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes to make a chord. I suggest practising these chords in the right hand above middle C. These chords sound “muddy” when played below middle C, and must be “spread out”. That’s a later topic.

A good next step is learning how to play a minor chord. You can do this by simply lowering the third note. Therefore, C minor becomes C, E flat and G. Easy, right? 

Now, practise putting the notes of these chords in a different order. In other words for C major, instead of C, E, G…put the E on the bottom and play E, G and C. You will notice that the “feeling” is different and it will require different fingering. This is called inverting the chord. You can also play the chord with the G on the bottom…G C and E.

There are many more chord types that you can practise. There are diminished chords where the 3rd and 5th note are lowered…C, E flat and G flat; and there are augmented chords where the 5th note is raised…C, E and G#). There are also 3 different types of 7th chords to practise…major 7ths, minor 7ths and dominant 7ths. A major 7th is made by simply adding the 7th note of the major scale to the chord. For instance, C major 7th (Cmaj7) would be C, E, G, and B; and C minor 7th (Cmin7) would be C, E flat, G and B. A C major dominant 7th (C7) is when the 7th note is lowered….C, E, G and B flat. An easy way to make this a 3 note chord is by putting the 7th on the bottom and leaving out the 1st note. For instance, Cmaj7 would be B, E and G.  Now, if you add the C (root note (I)) in the left hand, you have a beautiful sounding Cmaj7 chord!

You can find these piano chords in many different music books and online. It can be handy to have when you want to look something up real fast.

 There are many more ways to enhance your playing by ear. Learning rhythmic patterns in different time signatures will quickly make your playing sound more complex and interesting. Also, learning how to add suspense and tension to chord progressions adds an entire new dimension to chording.  Sure, you can analyze these chords to death from a theory point of view, but that’s not necessary. Instead, by simply learning a few things about “chord embellishment” you will quickly be sounding like a pro. Learning how to “spread out” a chord with different voicings (space between the notes) is another fabulous technique to add to your knowledge of playing piano by ear.

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried to learn the piano by ear. I will try to answer any questions you might have. Thanks for reading! Susan