Guess what ? You can learn how to play any toss off song on the piano with just three things .
1. Chords
2. Chord Charts
3. Playing By Ear
In this article, we ’ ll run through these three things. then we ’ ll associate you to more resources to fill in the gaps .
The amazing thing about pop songs is that you can play them as merely or equally building complex as you like. One song can sound stunning played in five different ways, from the denude basics to Elton John level virtuosity .
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TOOL # 1 : chord
1.1 Why Chords?
To learn how to play any pop song on the piano, you need to understand chords .
Why ? Aren ’ thyroxine songs made of melodies and harmonies ?
well, yes, but if we break them down to their most basic components, all songs are built from chords. If you take sheet music — for model, “ Someone You Loved ” by Lewis Capaldi — you ’ ll learn that everything is built up of recognizable chords like D, A, and Bm .
After all, a guitar musician who sings and plays can recreate an integral song by singing the tune over a little handful of chords .
And you can do the same thing with piano !
now, some of you will want to play the tune of a song on your correct pass and the chords on your leave hand. Don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate concern — we ’ ll catch to that soon 😉
1.2 So…How Much Do I Need to Know About Chords?
You don ’ t need to know an frightful batch about chords to get started. If you ’ re a sum founder, startle by memorizing these four chords : C, G, Am, and F .
With just these chords, you can play basic versions of these songs :
Check out the tutorials linked above to get started and you ’ ll see what we mean when we say anyone can play songs on day 1 .
🎹 Hack Into Chords 👊
Understanding how chord exercise will give you a BIG leg up in learning how to play the piano. Knowing fair a handful of chords will unlock hundreds, if not thousands of crop up songs. To get started today, check out our free Chord Hacks course, or read Chording 101 .CHECK IT OUT
1.3 Endless Possibilities…With Just Chords
You can play a bunch of music with merely the root put triads of basic chords. But to get the most of them, learn chord variations once you ’ re comfortable with harmonize basics .
Ways to add variation to your chords include the pursue :
Chord inversions. “ Inversion ” is a fancy bible for playing the notes of a chord in a different order. This will vary the audio a act without changing the fundamental nature of the harmonize. You can find a graph of all inversions hera .
Seventh chords. Seventh chords are responsible for that dreamy, jazzy sound you hear in piano music. In harmonize charts, they ’ re represented like “ Cmaj7 ” and “ Cm7. ” Learn what these all mean hera .
See how you can make a gazillion harmonies with just ONE slash chord in Sam’s lesson here. Sus chords and slash chords. If you want to learn what “ Dsus4 ” and “ G/B ” on a chord chart means, learn about sus chords and cut chords. They ’ re easier than they look and they add more personality to your arrangements !
TOOL # 2 : chord chart
2.1 Find Chord Charts on Ultimate-Guitar.com
Okay, so you know how to play chords. But how do you know what chords to play if, say, you want to play “ Falling ” by Harry Styles ?
Easy : use the internet !
We ’ re living in a fantastic clock time because we can find resources, with the suction stop of a button, on how to play about any pop sung on the piano. You can find the chord charts ( instructions on what chords a sung has and when to play them ) to most popular songs on Ultimate-Guitar.com .
Nope, this web site international relations and security network ’ metric ton good for guitarists. You can toggle the chord diagram at the top of the foliate to “ piano ” and it ’ ll tell you precisely what keys to play for certain chords .
Screenshot from Ultimate-Guitar.com (source) If you ’ re new to chord charts, they ’ ra pretty easy to decipher. The chord symbols are placed above the lyrics of a song, which means you change chords whenever a new chord appears above a lyric .
Screenshot from Ultimate-Guitar.com (source) now, not all chord charts are accurate. many free harmonize charts you ’ ll find on the internet are created by amateur musicians who share and upload their transcriptions for free. Sheet music and chord charts by the master musicians frequently cost money or are copyrighted .
so if something sounds incorrect to you, you may be right. This is why knowing how to play by ear is such an important skill even when you have tools like chord charts. We ’ ll explore this in a bite !
2.2 Find Lead Sheets
You can besides find lead sheets on the internet. lead sheets are somewhere between chord charts and full-on sheet music. They include the notes for the tune of a sung along with harmonize symbols and they ’ rhenium ideal for beginner sight-readers because they ’ rhenium less intimidating to read than a august staff .
Learn more about lead sheets here. And if you ’ re new to reading music, make sure to check out our most popular tutorial on YouTube, “ How to Read Notes. ”
run sheets can be found on-line on sites like 8notes or Musescore. We besides offer release lead sheets with many of our song tutorials on the Pianote blog .
🎹 Sight Reading Made Simple 👓
Learning how to read music is like learning a new speech. It can feel intimidate and frustrating, but it doesn ’ t have to be. With proper discipline, you can promptly and well read music and unlock the songs you know and love. Take a look at Sight Reading Made Simple, our 100 % FREE path on how to painlessly read notes .START READING TODAY
TOOL # 3 : play BY EAR
3.1 Why Play By Ear?
Understanding chords gives you the foundation to start learn songs. But if you prefer playing your melody alternatively of singing it, or if you can ’ triiodothyronine recover harmonize charts to your birdcall, you ’ ll need to know how to play by ear .
Being able to hear something and then play it on an instrument is a antic skill. indeed, some of the world ’ s most celebrated musicians didn ’ triiodothyronine use sheet music. The Beatles couldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate read sheet music and Mozart was rumored to recreate pieces by ear after listening to them once .
Playing by ear seems like a charming talent that only the best musicians have. But it ’ s a skill like any early. It can be learned and practiced .
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Read more: Riptide Ukulele Chords by Vance Joy
3.2 How to Play By Ear: Figuring Out the Key
A basic understanding of key will help you play songs by ear fast. The key can help you figure out the harmonize progression of a song .
In many crop up songs, the key is the death eminence of the choir. so if your song ends on E, it ’ sulfur very probable that it ’ s in E Major .
Figuring this out is just trial and error. here ’ s a demonstration in the beginning of this video recording :
Why is knowing the key utilitarian ? Well, if we know that a birdcall is in E Major…
- We’ll know what sharp and flats to watch out for. E Major has four sharps (F#, C#, G# and D#). You can find the number of sharps and flats in a key by referring to the Circle of Fifths.
- We’ll also know what chords might show up in the song. Diatonic chords are chords that occur on a scale. The most common chords used in pop songs are the I, the V, the IV, and the vi chords. In E Major, this is the E chord, B chord, A chord, and C#m chord.
WHAT THE HECK ARE DIATONIC CHORDS? “Diatonic” just means chords built on the degrees of a scale. For example, the I chord of C Major is the chord built on the first note of C Major. Since the first note of C Major is C, the I chord is C-E-G. We explain diatonic chords in detail in “ Diatonic ” just means chords built on the degrees of a scale. For exemplar, the I chord of C Major is the harmonize built on the first note of C Major. Since the beginning note of C Major is C, the I chord is C-E-G. We explain diatonic chords in detail in this example
3.3 How to Play By Ear: Intervals
Understanding intervals will besides help you play by ear .
Step 1: Learn what intervals are
The first tone is to know how to recognize intervals. An interval is the space between two notes. If you can identify the intervals between notes, you can identify a melody .
Each time interval has a identify and a distinct sound. You can recognize intervals by associating them with a song, such as :
Interval: Major 2nd (in C major: C to D)
song : happy birthday
Interval: Major 3rd (C to E)
Songs : When the Saints Go Marching In, “ Summertime ” by George Gershwin
Interval: Perfect 4th (C to F)
Songs : Wedding March, We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Interval: Perfect 5th (C to G)
Songs : Twinkle Twinkle, Scarborough Fair
Interval: Major 6th (C to A)
Songs : My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Interval: Major 7th (C to B)
sung : “ Don ’ triiodothyronine Know Why ” by Norah Jones
Interval: Perfect Octave (C to C)
song : “ somewhere Over the Rainbow ” from The Wizard of Oz
Find more interval birdcall shortcuts here .
Step 2: Practice recognizing intervals by ear
While it may feel overwhelming at first, there are several ways you can practice recognizing intervals by ear :
- Pick a random note and practice singing an interval above or below it.
- Play intervals on the piano while saying the name of the interval.
- Connect your favorite songs to intervals.
Step 3: Apply your knowledge to melodies and chord progressions
Intervals can be used to figure out chord progressions besides. When one harmonize moves to another, there ’ s a discernible interval between the sounds .
Learning to play by ear can be frustrating at inaugural. It ’ s a test and error action. But as we ’ ve mentioned before, it ’ s a skill like any early. It fair takes exercise !
Before long, you ’ ll be playing chords and melodies with ease .
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Many pop songs follow the same few chord progressions, such as the 🎹🧠Many start songs follow the lapp few chord progressions, such as the 1-5-6-4 harmonize progress. If you ’ re figuring out a song, see if it fits one of these progressions first .
How to Play Almost Any Song on the Piano: Get a Head Start
Billy Joel (photo source) You have learned that with three tools, you can play practically any start birdcall on the piano. here ’ s a retread :
- Understand how to play chords.
- Find chord charts that will tell you what chords to play.
- Use your ear to fill in the gaps, figure out melody, and confirm chord progressions.
But ! For an even bigger advantage, we have free, bit-by-bit and easy-to-follow tutorials proper here on the Pianote blog. Beloved songs like :
“Drivers License” by Olivia Rodrigo
exempt sheet music and run tabloid > >
“Imagine” by John Lennon
spare sheet music > >
“Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi
free lead sheet > >
These tutorials will give you an unfair head start in playing these songs !
And if you want to go even further, try 500 Songs in 5 Days. This throng includes bangers like :
Rocket Man
Elton John
No One
Alice Keys
Piano Man
Billy Joel
Photograph
Ed Sheeran
My Immortal
evanescence
Hit the Road Jack
Ray Charles
Have playfulness learning songs and happy drill !
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Lisa Witt has been teaching piano for 19 years and in that time has helped hundreds of students learn to play the songs they love. Lisa received classical piano train through the Royal Conservatory of Music, but she has since embraced popular music and play by auricle in ordain to accompany herself and others .
