A lot of people have been asking for sheet music!
I don’t have sheet music because its much more expensive and takes longer to read than fakebooks.
There is another problem with just posting sheet music online… (I think its illegal!)
If you are interested in purchasing a good book of christmas songs check this book out:
This fake book is EASY to use, the symbols have been simplified.
You could play every chord in there after reading the CHORDS 101 course!
Thats why its a good book to get started learning how to read chord symbols. They’re all in the key of C which means most songs use the same few chords over and over again. Like C, Dm, F & G.
If you haven’t already checked out some of the lessons, be sure and go to ChristmasPianoLessons.com
Thats where I’m focusing most of my energy this month!
This is the second piano lesson in a 3 part series with examples for how to play a ballad similar to the style that Elton John uses on songs like “Tiny Dancer”. In fact, the first pattern I play in the video is very similar to the piano introduction to Tiny Dancer.
Use these patterns as guidelines though. To make them your own, you’ll have to add a few different notes and rhythms here and there. Not even Elton John plays his piano parts the same way twice.
The chords are C major and F major.
OUTLINE:
:03 - Tiny Dancer example
:09 - Variations on the first example slowed down
:50 - Country lick slowed down
Practice Tips: Please realize that I’ve only shown you two examples on the C and F chords. Transpose them to another key to get the most benefit from them. For example, try to play these patterns on D & G, or E & A.
This is the first piano lesson in a 3 part series with examples for how to play a ballad similar to the style that Elton John uses on songs like “Your Song” or “Tiny Dancer”. In this lesson we start of with some very simple patterns for the C major and F major chords. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to be comfortable with your inversions of chords and arpeggios. Don’t practice for perfection here.
Use these patterns as guidelines, making sure to change a few of the notes here and there each time you play them.
OUTLINE:
:10 - Example #1: The Easy Version: Rolling the chord Up
:25 - Example #2: Rolling the chord up & down.
:37 - Experiment with different rhythms and patterns for endless possibilities. Its up to you to be creative!
1:03 - Explanation of Chord Tones: Chord tones are the notes in the chord. Cmajor is made up of the chord tones “C E G”. Non-chord tones are all the other notes not in the chord (D, F, A, B,).
Practice Tip: Using Chord Tones and Non-Chord Tones
Use only the chord tones at first and then try to add non-chord tones as you get more comfortable with how they sound. Non-chord tones don’t always sound good with a chord so use caution. For example if you play the note F in your right hand, with the chord C major in your left hand, the E&F notes will clash. This clashing doesn’t sound good if you hold on the F for a long time. If you play the F note only for a short duration as just a passing note, then the clashing will not be that noticeable.
INSIGHT INTO THE LIFE OF BEETHOVEN:
I find that learning songs by famous composers helps me get a better picture of their life and personality. For example, after learning Fur Elise, I now know that Beethoven had a girlfriend named Elise and she was furry.
This lesson covers the famous classical song by Beethoven called Fur Elise, which you’ve all heard a million times, but this time there is a twist! It ROCKS! By using power chords in the left hand, not only can we simplify the song, we can give it more energy and a contemporary “facelift”.
First I show you an example of the final version of fur elise with power chords.
Then a slowed down left hand example covering the chords Am and E major and how to turn them into power chords.
Then we cover the right hand fingering and slowly put most of the song together.
Post a comment if you have any questions and…
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
In this piano lesson, we cover the Jazz standard: Summertime by George Gershwin. As usual I show you the final version first and then slowly break it down. STEP 1: DOWNLOAD the sheet music (fake book style) before watching the video. Then use it to follow along with the video lesson. Click here for the music chart: SUMMERTIME CHORD CHART
STRIDE PATTERNS:
Stride patterns are when your left hand plays just the root down and then jumps up an octave to play the missing notes from the chord. (2:19) The left hand is going to play the low single bass note on beats one and three. On beats two and four it will jump an octave up to play the chord. There are of course lots of different variations! In the video, I’ve slowed the left hand down half as fast. I’m only playing the root on beat one and the chord on beat 3.
GETTING STARTED WITH STRIDE: (Start Simple) 2:45
To get the hang of playing stride piano you want to first start out by practicing just with your left hand.
With your pinky, practice jumping from notes in different octaves. For example, play a low C (single note) then moving an octave up to play another C (single note). Keep working on this until you can do it in a steady rhythm without dropping a beat. Start off as slowly as you need to then gradually speed up!
The next step is to add the chords into the left hand on beats 2 and 4.
IMPROVISING:
To improvise on summertime, you want to use the Dmin blues scale. The notes for the D minor blues scale are [D F G G# A C D].
The Chords in Summertime:
Dmin7 can be played with the notes DFAC.
Gmin7 can be played with the notes G Bb D F. On Gmin7. In the video (:10 & :57), I’m playing an inversion of the chord (F Bb D) and leaving out the root because I played it earlier on beat 1.
Emin7(b5) can be played with the notes E G Bb D.
To add more walking bassline motion, I lead into A by playing Bb right before that. (:13)
A7 can be played with the notes A C# E G, however in the video I’m playing the root on beat one and then playing the chord without the root on beat 2
Fmaj7 can be played with the notes FACE. In the video (:24) I only play F & C to keep the chord from sounding muddy. Its a fast passage and a lot of notes are tricky!
Bb7 can be played with the notes [Bb D F Ab] but in the video (:25) I only play a shell voicing: Bb and Ab.
A7 can be played with the ntoes A C# E G and in the video I only play another shell voicing: A and G When you’re playing chords in a low range on the piano, use only the outside notes of the chords (shell voicings) to keep it from sounding muddy. It also makes it easier to play 2 notes from a chord rather than all 4.
