One of the aspects that appears most challenging for starting piano learners is reading sheet music and understanding the layout of the piano. Tones, semitones, cliffs, alterations… there are a lot of elements that can come across as overwhelming at first for all those people who have never had a proper introduction to music, have never attended any music classes, or used any online resources to learn to play the piano.
However, there is nothing to worry about; there is nothing to be scared of! Even though these concepts might seem a little strange at first, everything is about how we approach it. As long as we establish an organized and coherent way to learn all of these concepts, we should not have a problem understanding either the layout of the keyboard itself or note reading. This article is going to go over the general organization and methods that can be used to most efficiently learn and acquire expertise in reading notes and having a clear consciousness of the layout of the piano and how to use it to get the maximum out of the instrument.
First Things First: Understanding the Basics
First things first, we have to know about one element that is not specific to the piano but is rather a general concept: chords. In order to be able to understand the basics of music and how to play piano we have to start by understanding that the chord progression of a song or piece is the spine of the music. The harmonic basis is what makes a piece of music have some kind of cohesion and have some kind of guideline or pattern to follow. Put another way, chords act as the pillars that support the entire musical structure and provide a sense of movement and emotional direction. They create a walkthrough that helps keep both the performer and the listener on track throughout the performance.
“Without the right chords, a melody is just a sequence of notes.”
~Elton John
The Palette of Chords: Crafting Emotional Resonance
Nevertheless, the function of chords in music goes way beyond just indicating the key or tone of a composition; as Paul McCartney said, “Chords are the building blocks of music. They give a song its color, its depth, and its feeling”.
Different chords and progressions can be used to give the listeners a different sensorial and emotional experience by stimulating many types of feelings in the listeners, from suspense or fear to joy and happiness. This might seem like some kind of witchcraft, so why not just see it by yourself? The EDM producer and YouTuber Alex Rome posted a very interesting video in which he created 10 different chord patterns and proved how these different progressions serve to reflect 10 different emotions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yw85rAb6cw
“10 Chord Patterns for 10 Different Emotions” by Alex Rome
Artistic Interpretation of Harmonic Progressions
One thing that is worth remarking is that music is not a sequence of chords and notes; it is an art. As such, it is crucial to remember that the artistic and interpretative aspect is also an element that will severely factor into the quality of our piano performance. In other words, even if technical aspects such as note correctness and rhythm are perfectly followed in a performance, that does not mean that it is going to be a perfect interpretation. There are a lot more aspects to be considered. Some of them are very specific and concrete, such as dynamics. Dynamics basically allow the performers to modify and change the intensity they play with throughout a performance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zq6nrwx/revision/3
Composers use a range of musical terms to convey how they want their music to be played. Understanding these will make you perform more accurately and with more style.
This allows for the addition of slight nuances and details to the music and, that way, achieves an overall more expressive performance. Other aspects related to artistry and interpretation are more abstract and a little harder to explain, such as phrasing (the way in which notes are linked or separated in order to create coherent and expressive musical phrases) or stage presence (the ability to form a connection with the audience using physical and interpretative resources such as body language or posture).
From Chords to Captivating Melodies: Crafting Music That Resonates
How does a progression of chords end up converting into actual ready-to-listen music?
Well, it is essential to understand that everything in music is intertwined and related. Once the harmonic (chords) and rhythmic basis are established, melody comes into play. The melody is supposed to have a cohesive interaction with the chord progression, weaving through the harmonic landscape and giving a leading and distinctive voice that establishes a followable line for the music.
This melodic line can either emphasize certain tones in a chord in order to obtain a more stable and tonal sound, or it can also do frequent use of non-chord tones in order to give the music a more tense or unresolved character.
During composition, the melodic line should combine both tones from chords and not in order to obtain a rich melody with an interesting line of conflicts and resolutions; this helps engage the listener and make him more immersed. At the end of the day, that is exactly what we look for when we are learning how to play piano.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, while chords and rhythm form the backbone of music, it’s the meticulous details and the interconnection between these elements and the artistry of interpretation that breathes life into piano performance. Being able to interpret sheet music and the piano keyboard layout properly and rapidly allows piano players to have one less thing to think about while performing. Long story short, technical skill provides us with resources, but it is artistry and interpretative skills that enrich the music and captivate its listeners.
