Another method of breaking up chords into patterns is the 3-1 breakup pattern where you play 3 notes of a chord and then 1, 3 and then 1, and so on. Watch the short video and you will understand immediately. But it takes a bit of practice to get the feel of it. Very useful for fills during the “empty spaces” in music.

Chords can be broken up in many ways, as you no doubt know, and the 2-1 breakup is one of the easiest ways to do it. You simply take 2 piano notes and juxtapose them against 1 note in a teeter-totter pattern. Watch the video and you’ll understand immediately:

It is easy for a musician such as myself to take for granted those truths about music that I have known since childhood, and forget that many people are just now entering the world of music, and are not familiar with many of the basic facts of life concerning music. When I take my car to a mechanic I expect the mechanic to speak to my level of knowledge about cars – not his level of knowledge – and it’s annoying when they talk over my head about things they falsely assume I know. Yet I am guilty of exactly the same “sin” when it comes to music – I often assume too much. And so for those precious people who are not familiar with basic musical terms, I am going to write the next few articles about the basics of music, assuming nothing. (Musicians will want to skip this article) Notes are the musical notation representing a fixed pitch. While the word strictly refers to the physical notation of a pitch, it’s more commonly used to refer to both the pitch and the notation. When we’re trying to figure out a piece of music, we rarely ask which pitches are being played; we always ask which notes are being played. But if we try to describe a song as having the same note in several places, we’re technically wrong. Considering that each note is a separate notation, even if the pitch is the same, it’s impossible to have the same note in several places. Notes are named after the first seven letters in the alphabet — A, B, C, D, E, F, and G — and keep the same letter value regardless of the octave. But since there are twelve notes in a diatonic scale (a “normal” scale we are all used to – there are other kinds, but they are way beyond the scope of this article), the seven notes can be altered. To get the extra five notes, we sharp (raise by a half-step) and flat (lower by a half-step); the sharp and flat notes are the black keys on a piano. (White keys can be raised and lowered also, but again, that is beyond the scope of this article.) The types of notes and their values are based on the amount of time they take up in a song. Whole notes (in the language of music theory they are known as “semi-breve” notes) are four beats, which is equal to one measure in 4/4 time. They are represented by a hollow, oval note with no stem. Half notes (also known as “minim” notes) are half of a whole note, or two beats. They are written as a hollow note with a stem that points up when placed below the middle of the staff, up when placed above it. Quarter notes (or “crochet” notes) represent a quarter of a whole note, or one beat in 4/4 time. They are the most recognizable note: a solid black note with a stem. Eighth notes (or “quaver” notes) are one-eighth of a whole note and are written exactly like a quarter note, but with a flag attached to the stem. When more than one eighth note is placed side by side, a solid beam connects the adjacent notes. Sixteenth notes (or “demi-quaver” notes) are one-sixteenth of a whole note and represented as an eighth note with two flags or two solid beams. Thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes represent the section of a whole note indicated by their names; they are drawn as eighth or sixteenth notes with an additional flags. A 32nd note is known as a demi-semi-quaver. And believe it or not, a 64th note is known as a hemi-demi-semi-quaver. It’s also important to mention that a note’s value can be changed by adding a dot. Dotted notes represent the value of the original note, plus one half. For instance, dotted half notes are held for three beats, dotted quarter notes for a beat and one half, and so on. (For you musicians who shouldn’t be reading this anyway, yes – I am well aware that I made some generalities in this article, but it is for beginners.) For more detail on types of notes, go to Wikipedia on Note Values.

I just learned that a new course in jazz piano is coming out today that is five hours long on four separate DVD’s. There are so few good jazz courses around that I’m delighted someone has finally filled that need. You can check it out at Jazz Piano Course on DVD.

There are 3 exciting ways to create fresh chord sounds for your songs. Once you learn these 3 ways you’ll never be at a loss to know how to create great chord substitutions, and for the rest of your life you can come up with original arrangements of your songs. These 3 basic methods are: 1. A simple question you ask yourself: “Into what other chord will this note fit?” I will demonstrate this easy technique many times on the DVD so you can SEE how easy it is to come up with fresh chord sounds. 2. The “Half-Step Slide”. This technique creates all kinds of new chords that you can use over and over again on song after song. 3. The “Exchange a Minor 7th Chord For Any Dominant 7th Chord” technique. This makes your playing sound more mellow and gives it more variety. These 3 chord substitution techniques will keep you busy for a lifetime coming up with your own fresh arrangments of songs.

For a musically minded person who is interested in testing the waters of piano lessons, but who is not quite sure if her commitment is all there, free online beginner keyboard lessons are a great way to quickly find out whether the piano is the right instrument to learn. After all, some people just don’t have the type of brain and fingers that are necessary to play the piano. It requires incredible hand eye coordination, plus a level of hand and finger agility that is rarely required in other areas of life. I’ve known people who seem to be literally are incapable of playing notes on the piano. They try to play the most simple melody, and something odd happens — their fingers just can’t seem to do it. It’s no fault of theirs; it’s just an unfortunate result of the way they are wired. In most cases, these people are incredibly proficient in other ways. For example, my brother can’t play a lick of any musical instrument, but he can build a house from scratch. Me, I can play some of the most difficult piano pieces ever written, but I can’t hammer a nail straight. To find out if the piano is right for you, try doing a Web search for free online beginner keyboard lessons, and find a website that offers a few introductory lessons, or articles about how to get started on the piano. Naturally, there is a wide range of these types of lessons; some are very poor quality, while others are as good as pay instruction. The key is to find the right one. Of course, what you can expect to learn from these is relatively simple, and I can basically sum it up for you here. First, you’ll learn about which notes on the piano are which. The notes range from A through G, and the white keys symbolize the pure forms of the lettered notes, while the black keys represent sharps and flats. You’ll learn the C major scale, and how to play it. Basically, the key of C major is where all piano students start, because it includes all of the white notes and none of the black notes, making it the easiest key to play in. To play the C Major scale with your right hand, place your thumb on middle C (which is usually below the first letter of your piano maker’s name), and start by playing the first three notes. Then, cross your thumb under to play the fourth note, and continue with the rest of the fingers in your hand. If you practice this a few times, and the scale begins to sound more fluid and musical, then you know you are doing well. If you can’t play this scale at all, no matter how hard you try, then you may want to look into carpentry. After learning how to play the C Major scale with your right hand, most free online beginner keyboard lessons will instruct you how to do the same thing with your left hand, which is just as easy. After that, you’ll begin to learn chords, and soon, you’ll progress to playing in other keys, probably starting out with G Major and F Major. After that, you’ll learn minor keys, beginning with A minor, which, in its standard form, includes all of the same notes as C Major, except it goes from A to A instead of C to C. Soon, you’ll learn music notation, how to read the staff, and about the various types of symbols that are used in reading music. This is where piano playing really becomes fun, as you begin to progress into more complex pieces of music. Of course, thanks to free online beginner keyboard lessons, you should know by this point whether you want to continue with more serious lessons. If you feel that you have a proficiency for the instrument, then you may want to look into serious, pay lessons. After all, this is the best way to receive in-depth instruction. Meanwhile, sign up for a few keyboard lessons online, such as Duane’s Piano Chords & Chord Progressions Newsletter. You’ll soon know if you have the interest and desire to pursue the keyboard or piano. (This is a guest article - opinions not necessarily mine)

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to write a song especially for a special celebration, or to honor someone that you love? Some people seem to have a natural talent for writing songs. Perhaps you’ve always believed you aren’t one of those people. Think again. If you’ve ever had the inkling to write a song, you probably have what it takes. All you need are a few tools to help you get started. Would it surprise you to know that many bestselling books, blockbuster movies, and even songs started out as nothing but a title? Believe it or not, starting with nothing but a title is your best bet. Forget lyrics for now. Don’t worry if you can’t read music and don’t play an instrument. Focus on a title. The title should be born from the heart of the song, your inspiration for writing a song. What is it that moved you to want to write a song in the first place? That’s what your title should be. Some rules of thumb for titling your song: keep it fairly simple. Three to five words are usually best. Sometimes one or two words can capture the emotion as well as 3 or 4. More than five is typically too many, unless it’s a comedy song. The title will often appear as a line somewhere in the lyrics of the song. But this isn’t necessarily the case. The title may simply reflect the subject of the song, or even who the song is for/about (for example: “Nadia’s Theme”). Once you have a title, you have a starting point, a place from which your thoughts can flow. Now you need to think structure. Most every song ever written follows a similar structure: a verse, chorus, another verse, chorus, bridge, and chorus. A good pop song usually has no more than 2 to 3 verses at most. Don’t stress out too much over stanza numbers. You’ll probably want more than one, but if you can’t come up with more than two your song will be just fine. Similarly, don’t go overboard. Most listeners will fall asleep long before the ninth stanza. When it comes to the chorus, four to six lines are probably adequate. You may even have as many as eight, but more than that and your song may become drudgery. An experienced songwriter may pull off a ten-line chorus, but for your first try you should keep it simple. The bridge of the song is something like a short interlude. It too should be fairly simple, no more than four to six lines in length. The bridge is the part of the song that ties all of your thoughts together. It might be the solution to the problem you are singing about. It might be an epiphany that has resulted from all of the other thoughts in the song. It should not present a new thought, however; otherwise it’s not really a bridge, and it’s just another verse. It should be a natural segue from the ideas presented in the verses to the chorus. Once your words are complete, you can focus on the melody. If you read music and play an instrument, this part is probably easy for you. If you aren’t a skilled transcriptionist and you want to have the music scored out, you may need to enlist someone to transcribe for you. This is probably not a necessity, though, unless you plan to have it played by a band or you want to market it. Chances are, for your first attempt, just you and a piano or guitar will suffice. If you don’t read music, you can find a musical friend to help, or even hire a professional. This is an especially good idea if you plan to present the song publicly. Your first song doesn’t have to be a billboard hit. Music is meant to touch the soul. If that’s what your song has done, even for just a few people, then you’ve accomplished what you set out to do. Writing songs just for your own personal benefit can be a good thing, even if no one else hears them. It can be very therapeutic, and it’s an excellent way to express your inner emotions. Once you start, you might find you have a knack for song writing after all. (Guest article) For the musical tools to create any kind of music see the Play Piano Catalog.

For many years I used the tri-tone chord progression — in fact it was one of my favorite chord substituions — but I didn’t know what it was called. I thought of it as a way to “slide in” to the next chord — a smooth way to move from one chord to another. And lots of my bass player friends used it too — but no one called it the tri-tone progression. I have a cousin who teaches music in a major university with a PHD in music history, so after not seeing him for lots of years I asked him over dinner what the name of the progession I use all the time is… You guessed it — the tri-tone substitution.

If asked to name a piano piece that is near-perfect, one noted example comes to mind for many people. That piece is Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. Clair de Lune, the third and most famous movement of Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, has entranced listening ears for over century. It has been the inspiration for many dramatic film sequences, as well as the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Disney’s Pinocchio. The son of a china shop owner and a seamstress, Claude Debussy began to reveal his brilliance at the age of seven when he started learning the intricacies of the piano. He soon attracted the attention of Mme. de Fleurville, whose son-in-law, French poet Paul Verlaine, would help inspire the piece with one of his poems. Verlaine was also acquainted with Frederique Chopin, as he was one of Chopin’s pupils. Debussy began his proper musical studies at the illustrious Paris Conservatory at the age of eleven. He spent twelve years studying under the giants of the age, stealing their secrets and arguing against the rigidity of the musical theory of the day. Debussy favored dissonance, which was a thorn in the side of his more strictly harmonious teachers. His love of experimentation, however, proved to be his greatest musical asset. Early works by Debussy were heavily influenced by both his love of Richard Wagner’s operas and his general distaste for the operas of Italian luminaries such as Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, who was one of the reigning kings of the style. Though Wagner had been dead for several years before Debussy discovered his works, a cult had grown up around his music. Wagner’s influence was not to last, though, as Debussy’s pieces tended to be more introverted than the extravagant Wagnerian sounds. He wrote his Suite Bergamasque, containing Clair de Lune, in his late 20s. As a sublime example of Debussy’s sensual, quiet style, Clair de Lune may be perhaps his most lasting gift to the music world. This lustrous piece was inspired, as were his earlier pieces, by one of his friend Verlaine’s poems. Verlaine’s poem “Clair de Lune” contains a reference to a bergamask, a clumsy dance performed by the natives of Bergamo. The French spelling of bergamask gives the entire suite its memorable name. The name “Clair de Lune,” literally translated as “moonlight,” is a perfect name, since the piece gives distinct images of moonlight with its rolling notes and glorious harmonies. Played properly, Clair de Lune requires a technical mastery of sweeping left hand movements and modulations in intensity to reach its timeless quality of melodic and counter-melodic beauty. While the piece is played mostly pianissimo, its brief journeys into louder dynamic ranges present a need for a highly-developed knowledge of the keyboard. This, combined with the ability to re-interpret the feel of the music according to one’s own personality, makes Clair de Lune music that has stood the test of time. It is a piece that is constantly evolving, living and breathing in the fingers of pianists the world over. Clair de Lune is not for beginners. If you are a beginner or near-beginner, go to Piano For Beginners. (This is a guest article.)

Chord substitutions is precisely what the name implies: the substitution of one chord for another during a chord progression. It’s a technique often found in jazz music (but other genres, as well) used to add a little extra pizzazz to a piece of music. Chord substitutions contribute to the element of surprise; it keeps the progressions from becoming predictable, without compromising the overall tone of the piece. Instead of playing a constant, consistent G chord, for instance, musicians will sometimes use chord substitutions to replace that G with a G6 or Gmaj7, depending on the song and the effect desired. Chord substitutions are a great way to add a kick to an otherwise monotonous progression. There are many things to consider when working with chord substitutions. First of all, chord substitutions will be especially easy when the two chords share a number of common notes. C major, for example, can be easily substituted with A minor because both of these chords contain a C and E. But it isn’t just enough to share common notes; the common notes in chord substitutions are best received when they drive the chord. The first two notes of a chord (including the root) are what give a chord its defining characteristics. If chord substitutions contain these notes in an insignificant place, the substituted chord won’t be as interchangeable. Let’s consider C major and A minor again. These chord substitutions works because the two common notes, C and E, are the two most important notes within the C major chord. The root note, C, shifts in these chord substitutions, but it is still present enough to keep the chord’s essential quality. But it’s important to mention here that, rules and regulations aside, chord substitutions are really in the eye of the beholder; if you think it works and like the sound the chord substitutions have created, feel free to explore it. There’s no rule in chord substitutions (or music, for that matter) that can’t be broken. There are 3 types of chord substitutions that will keep you busy creating your own exciting chord progressions for a lifetime. Click on Chord Substitutions