Piano Tutorial for "Oh holy night" in the key of A (Part 2)

Hey everyone! Today is a continuation of the lesson covered last time for playing "Oh holy night" in the key of A. This is the second section that we will be examining. So if you haven't yet looked at the first section, you can click here... If you have been following this lesson, you know that we broke it up into 4 parts, so we will continue by looking at the next 4 parts starting with part 5.

Here is an example of the entire song so you can put it into context, just in case you forgot how it sounded:

Piano Tutorial for "Oh holy night" in the key of A (Part 1)

Hi everyone. I am very excited today for two reasons-firstly I am back with you, doing what I love after a nasty exam and secondly, I have used the break to upgrade the format of my lessons, which means a better experience for you. I have an added Midi Virtual keyboard which highlight the notes!

So, today we will examine chords and progressions for the Christmas carol "Oh Holy night". Keep in mind that this lesson is not aimed at the beginner since two hand chords are being used and a bass player covers the bass notes. Also note that due the breakdown being so long because of all the nice chords, I had to break it into two parts. This will be part 1

So first have a look at the video clip for an example of how to play the song and of what we will be covering in this lesson.

Exam Time

Hi all

Hope you are having fun while learning how to play the piano. This is to inform you that this site will not be maintained for the next 3 months due to a very difficult engineering exam I will be writing in November.

I will however continue to update my site on a weekly basis once this is done.

Thanks for all the support and hope you are growing.

All the best!

The Major 7th Chord

Hi there!

Today I want to look at the Major 7th chord. This lesson is aimed at the beginner who are used to playing major and minor triad chords.

This lesson will consist of 3 parts:

1. How to construct the Major 7th chord
2. Root with inversions
3. How to use the chord within your playing

I have also added a video lesson here:

 

Keyboard tutorial on "As the deer" in the key of Ab (Part 2)

HI there

Today we will be continuing our lesson for "As the deer" and we will cover the second part of the song. Click here to look at part 1 of this lesson. It will help put this lesson in context.

You alone are my strength, my shield (6-5-1-4-3) To You alone may my spirit yield (1-4-6-2-1-7-7b) You alone are my heart's desire (6-5b-7-3-6-1) And I long to worship Thee (5b-4-2-5-1)

So here is the video clip with the breakdown of the second part:

 

Keyboard tutorial on "As the deer" in the key of Ab (Part 1)

Hi everyone

Today I am very excited about this lesson, because it's packed with chords that you can take with you on your journey on how to play the piano or keyboard. This lesson is not for the beginner as it contains two hand chord movements and requires knowledge of the fundamentals that I have already covered on this blog. The sad news is that there are lot's of chords so I had to break it down into a two-part series. This lesson will only cover the first part of the song.

So let's get started!


Take a look at the video clip where I play the song, containing both parts...

10000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) piano tutorial in the key of E

Hi there!

Hope you are growing as we try and share more lessons on how learn how to play the piano or keyboard. I'd like to thank all for supporting this blog. It means a lot! It also encourages me to continue to practice as well.

Today I would like us to examine the song "10000 Reasons" by Matt Redman. It is going to be in the key of E. We sing this song in church and it's one of my favorites, so I thought I'd share it with you. I have added a video tutorial first which you can watch on my Youtube channel or just click on the video below:

Minor triads with inversions in all 12 keys

Hi there everyone!

I have uploaded a lesson similar to last week's one, only showing the minor root chords with the inversions.

Here is the video:

Major triads with inversions in all 12 keys

Hi everyone!

Today I want us to look at something for the beginners. This lesson was inspired due to many people I personally know, who struggles with playing basic triads in all 12 keys as they start out.

It is VERY important that you practice these chords, for as you grow, you will realize that chords are being used across keys, e.g. If you were to practice a 1-4-5 in Eb, you will play Eb-major to Ab-major to Bb-major. If you were to play that same progression in the key of Bb, you will use Bb as 1 and Eb as 4. So as you can see, you will use these chords over and over in different keys. So please make sure that know them without thinking!

Here's a video showing how to play all 36 chords:

6 Different ways of playing the 6-2-5-1-4 progression in the key of E

Hi there

Today we will be looking at playing the 6-2-5-1-4 (Circle of Fifths) progression in the key of E. You will be able to play 6 different ways at the end of this lesson, of which 2 are for those playing left hand bass, and the rest are for those playing with a bass player.

So here I have added the video lesson:

Playing the relative minor

Hi there! Today I want us to look at a song that starts with a minor chord. The movement we will look at is as follows:

6-4-2-7-3

This will be repeated over and over, but we will cover different ways of playing this movement. If you are a beginner, I would recommend you look at my previous article where I started out explaining minor chords.

This lesson is for the intermediate and more advance student. So I've created a simple song as an example which you can watch as well as the breakdown of the chord movements which is separate. For those who love to read, the chord movements will follow after the video lessons.

First the song:

5 ways of playing the 2-5-1 progression in C

Hi there

Today I want to look at 5 different ways of playing the 2-5-1 progression. This movement can be applied whenever a song is ending.

The first two ways is for the beginner without a bass player and the others are both hand chords for when playing with a bass player. Have a look at the video lesson here or continue to read for the chord breakdowns:

How great is our God in the key of A

Hi there!

Today we are going to look at the song "How great is our God". It is in the key of A and this is not a beginner lesson. This is for when you as keyboard or piano player, plays with a band where the bass notes gets played by a bass player.

So here is the video lesson which covers the whole song, but I added the breakdown in an article below, for those who love reading!

1-2-3-4 Movement in the key of Eb

Hi there!

Today we will look at a very popular movement within the Gospel genre. The movement goes from 1-2-3-4. This movement you can hear on one of Juanita Bynam's songs-hearts desire. It's a very simple movement, but sounds really sweet when you accompany a singer.

So let's look at the movement!

Talk music in the key of G

Hi there!

Today we will look at the concept called talk music. This is basically something you do while someone is speaking in church and you need to back them up or during collection of offerings.

So let's look at the movement!

I worship you in G

Lovely day in E

1-4-5 Progression

Today's lesson will show the 1-4-5 progression making use of both hand chords. This is building on my previous lesson.

1-4-5 progression in the key of Db:

This progression can be used in a song as is or the chords are individually helpful too. So let's look at the 3 chords!

Proper Technique when playing the piano

Have you ever experienced pain in your wrist after playing for a long time. This is probably because you haven't developed proper technique. About a month ago I started practicing different scales over different chords and after a while my wrist became very tensed to a point that I couldn't play for about a week. Speed development was also limited due to this.

After lots of research I came across a website with some lessons from Zach Evans, a piano player and instructor. He has some good tips on how to develop proper technique. I recently discovered this issue so I will have to unlearn some bad techniques that I developed over the years. Please learn from my mistakes and take advantage of this opportunity You can find him at bestpianotips.com. He also has a Youtube channel that you can subscribe to. 

God bless!

How to transpose keys

Hi there,

Today's lesson covers the concept of how to transpose from one key to the next. This is important if you want to master playing all 12 keys. I've taken the time to create a video lesson. Please note it is my first, so be a little patient if there are some hick ups.

Hope you enjoy!

You can use this idea and try to implement it with the previous article that covers "Building on Major and Minor chords". Try and learn all those chords in the chart in all 12 keys! This will give you a very solid foundation!

Here is an original composition that I created by practicing most frequently used chords. Hope you enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel for more upcoming lessons.

Please like, share, comment.

God bless!

Building on Major and Minor

Previously we dealt with how to construct major and minor triads. If you haven't, click on major or minor for those lessons.

For this lessons we want to see how major and minor triads can be applied in a specific key, so we can end up playing a basic song. In the previous article we covered the 1-4-5 chords with inversions for the key of C. Now we will look at the rest of the numbers within that key.

Why do you need this?

Well, if you don't know how to read sheet music, you will have to depend on patterns that allows you to play any song. Once you understand these patterns, all you need to do is figure out which bass note (this is normally the lowest note and root in the song) is being used. Once you know the bass note, there are only a few chords that you can play against that bass note. This is why the number system is very critical to grasp in all 12 keys. It is also important to practice the different chords that accompanies that particular bass note

Here are the numbers with the chords you can play (in the most basic sense only using right hand chords and left hand bass note): 

If you start practicing this chart, just go up from 1 to 7 with only the root chords and listen to how it sounds. Repeat that with 1st inversions and then 2nd inversions. You will hear that it probably sounds like a song you've heard somewhere. The other alternative is to play from the 1 and go down to 7 and then 6. This is used a lot in different genres!

Please note that this is based on the major triad chord chart that was provided in the previous lesson (Major triads with inversions). The numbers 2, 3, 6 & 7 is supposed to be minor chords. so if you play the right hand chord with left hand bass, exclude the last note in your right hand then you'll end up playing a minor chord for that bass note! When I play, I make use of the major chord instead of the minor triad. It sounds better.

Once you practice all these chords in C, try to transpose them to the rest of the 12 keys, If you master this, I promise you will be able to play in a band within a month!! 

Please feel free to comment, share or ask questions regarding this post.

God bless!

Minor Triads

Last we looked at Major Triads and Inversions. The next step would be to introduce the Minor triad. To play a minor triad from the major triad, all you have to do is flat the 3rd of your root chord like this:

C(1)-E(3)-G(5)  (C-Major triad)

C(1)-Eb(3b)-G(5) (C-Minor triad)

Remember that 1-3-5 is based on the number system as explained in another article

From this you can invert the root like this:

Eb-G-C

G-C-Eb

Look below to see in real time:

The most important thing to understand when it comes to playing in a minor key is that "for every minor key, you have a relative major key that you play". This means that if you can master the major key than you can automatically play the minor key.

In a major key, your 6th tone will always be the relative minor of that key. So in the above example, C-minor is the 6th tone for Eb-major, therefore your relative major key is Eb.

So when a song starts with C-Minor you can actually start playing in Eb Major, but the only difference is that you start the song on the 6th tone and not with the normal 1 chord (Eb-major). Here is an example of how it would sound within a song context:

Major Triads and Inversions

When learning to play the piano, the most important part would be to know chords. The more chords you know and UNDERSTAND, the better your chances of learning how to play and master any song.

The first chord is called a triad. This consists of 3 notes that make up the chord. Here is C-Major or C triad:

C-E-G

You will use this chord mostly when you start with a song. This chord consist of the 1-3-5 degrees in your scale. If you don't understand the number system, you probably should check that out first here...

This is also known as the root chord. You can build on the root chord and create INVERSIONS:

E-G-C

G-C-E 

With the above chords, you are able to create different tones for the 1 chord.

A good progression to practice with this is the 1-4-5 progression. You can play 1 with all 3 chords, and progress to 4, then 5.

Look at the tables below:

Chords for playing in C:

C-Root	C-E-G
C-1st Inversion	E-G-C
C-2nd Inversion	G-C-E

Progress to F still in the key of C:

F-Root	F-A-C
F-1st Inversion	A-C-F
F-2nd Inversion	C-F-A

Progress to G still in the key of C:

G-Root	G-B-D
G-1st Inversion	B-D-G
G-2nd Inversion	D-G-B

Here is a sample video that illustrates what to practice. Also remember to practice this in all 12 keys. Enjoy!

The number system

To play by ear is not to difficult at all. A lot of the music you hear on your radio, iPod or mp3 player consists of patterns or musical progressions that is based on the NUMBER SYSTEM. The number system makes things easier for musicians to remember.

You can practically play with a band and call out the specific number and they will understand and will be able to accompany you as piano player.

So here's how it works:

We already looked at the major scale in a previous blog post (click here). The number system is derived from the major scale like this:

C = 1

D = 2

E = 3

F = 4

G = 5

A = 6

B = 7

C = back to 1 and repeats...

The goal is to know the number system in all 12 keys and what chords are associated with each number. An example would be your 1 chord = C major triad as shown above.

The aim of this website is to provide as much chords as possible with each of the numbers in a particular key.

I hope you enjoyed this. Please feel free to post any questions or comments. Also subscribe to my mailing list where you will be notified of any new article that are posted. 

I am in the process of creating video posts. Look out for that in the near future.

God bless!

Practice Piano

Ever found yourself practicing keyboard and the next thing you know you wonder off and start to play something you already know or am familiar with? You end up wasting an entire 15 minutes just playing around and not learning something new.

Well we all have been there, and sometimes I still do it. So how do you practice effectively? I have a few steps...

#1. Set a goal for the year

Set yourself a realistic goal for the year whether it be to learn new songs to play in church or in a band. You might even listen to songs and try to copy what the piano or keyboard player does. Or you want to know all major, minor and other scales by the end of the year in all 12 keys. Maybe you want to know certain progressions in all 12 keys.
The idea is to set some goal, so you have something to work towards and keep you motivated.

#2 Set time aside daily or every other day and try to stick to it.

We all have busy schedules between studying for exams, work and extra curricular activities. Keeping a schedule is helpful when one wants to progress with playing keyboard. It keeps you focused and more determined, because you have a goal. I would recommend practicing for at least an hour daily instead of practicing for 8 hrs straight once a week. It helps you to remember what you did the previous session much easier.

#3. Break up your sessions into parts

• Always start of with fingering exercises for about 15 minutes (Hanon Exercises are very good). 
• Practice new chords and try them in all 12 keys
• Practice chord progressions and try them in all 12 keys
• Try to practice a song

#4. Keep a diary

Just so you don't repeat the same things over and over again, keep a diary or journal of your practice sessions. Sometimes  you find yourself struggling with a certain progression or when you play a melody line. If you didn't manage to get it right, write it down. You can skip pass it and try it again the next time you practice. I would recommend you deal with those challenges in the same time slot or part within your session that you would have normally practiced it. Do not start with it when your sessions starts, otherwise you will not get to finger exercises or the rest.

Your first lesson

Learning how to play the keyboard is not that difficult. When I started, my very first lesson looked like this:

The first important concept is getting to know the notes on the keyboard. As can be seen above, there are only 12 unique keys on any keyboard or piano. In the picture, considering only the white keys, it starts with C at the far left and if you ascend upwards towards the right, it ends on B and repeats itself at C and so on...Please note that you get different size keyboards, hence your keys may start at different notes.

The second thing to notice is the black keys. There are two black keys between C-D and D-E. There are three black keys between F-G, G-A and A-B. These normally are referred to as either a sharp or a flat. When you ascend it will become the sharp of the previous key, and when it descends, it will become the flat of that key, e.g. C# if you go a semi-tone upwards from C and Db if you go a semi-tone downwards from D.

A semi-tone is when you were to change a key pitch with half a note, e.g. from C to C# or E to F. A whole tone is when you were to change a key pitch with a whole note, e.g. From C to D or F to G.

The third concept is to understand scales? Scales are a series of notes that differs in pitch as you ascend or descend on the keyboard or piano. It normally continues for a whole octave, meaning 8 notes. It starts at the first note and moves through seven notes and usually ends up at the first note, an octave higher. The first scale to learn is always the major scale in a particular key. Please note that all 12 keys has its own major scale. We will focus on the key of C for illustration purposes:  

C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C

This only consists of the white keys. Note that there is a pattern: W-W-H-W-W-H, where W is a whole tone and H is a half tone shift.

You can apply the pattern to all other keys and end up with a major scale in that particular key. This is how easily you could start practicing all 12 keys!

Now that you know the scales, what about the fingering? What fingers would you use in order to play these notes.

Well, number your fingers through the following illustration:

Here is the C scale again with the particular finger number as a subtext:

RH: C(1)-D(2)-E(3)-F(1)-G(2)-A(3)-B(4)-C(5)

LH: C(5)-D(4)-E(3)-F(2)-G(1)-A(3)-B(2)-C(1)

Hope you enjoyed this lesson. Feel free to comment or subscribe to my mail list to your top right hand side.