Piano Playing is Easier than You Think When You Understand Musical Form

Form is the key that unlocks the musical map of a song or a musical compostition. Like a house has rooms, so a song has rooms or sections.

Chord progressions come in sections, like one room in a house. You can put several different rooms together to make a big house, or you can live in a one room house. Just like people. In most 3rd world countries people live in one room houses -- which means, of course, that much of the world lives in one-room houses.

Those of us who live in the West generally live in multi-room houses.

But there are also musical houses -- we call them songs -- that are built out of several different rooms -- several different chord progressions. Some of them, like mansions and castles, go on and on and get quite involved.

But most songs are like many modest houses -- they have 2 or 3 rooms, sometimes 4 -- built using 2 or 3 or 4 different chord progressions.

Each "room" in a musical house is called a theme, or a "motif". The first theme is always called "A". The next theme is called "B", the next theme is called "C", and so on. Most songs only have 2 or 3 themes, but these themes often repeat.

For example, let's say we have a chord progression that goes like this:

C Am7 Dm7 G7

...and then it repeats those same 4 chords...

and then we have another chord progression that goes like this: Gm7 C7 F Fm7 Bb7 Eb G7

...and then the first chord progression is used again as the song ends.

This song would have a musical form of A, A, B, A -- main theme, repeat of main theme, contrasting theme, main theme.

If a song went like this:

Theme contrast theme

?it would be known as ABA musical form

If a song went like this:

Theme, theme, contrast, theme

?.then the song would be in AABA musical form

The "B" section of a song is sometimes called the "bridge", or the "release", or the "chorus". These terms usually mean the same thing -- depending upon the form used.

Can you guess what this might be called?

Theme - contrast - theme - contrast - theme - contrast - theme - contrast

Right you are! A B A B form.

This is also known as "verse-chorus" form.

Most popular songs fall into one of these forms:

A B A

A A B A

A B A C A

A B A B

Why should you care?

Because if you know songs are constructed this way, you can look at songs with smart eyes -- you know what to look for, and once you determine the form, you have a "mental map" of the song -- you're not just wandering from chord to chord anymore.

In addition, most songs are proportional. That is -- 4 bars of section A, then 4 bars of section B, then another 4 bars of section A, and so on. You will find TONS and TONS of popular songs that are 32 bars long in A A B A form -- 8 bars of theme A, 8 bars of theme A repeated, then a bridge of 8 bars, finishing with 8 bars of theme A.

Does that give you an advantage knowing that?

It gives you a HUGE advantage because you know what to look for, and you know that if you learn theme A you have automatically learned 75% of the song! All that remains is to learn the 8 bars of the bridge, and you've got it!

And that's why you need to learn about form.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD's, CD's, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His courses have been written up in hundreds of newspapers and magazines. His book-CD-DVD course titled "How To Play Chord Piano" (http://www.chordpiano.com) has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds an advanced degree from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He has also logged time as an assistant music therapist, piano tuner, and working piano player. He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions" with over 55,000 current subscribers. Those interested may obtain a free subscription by going to http://www.playpiano.com/

---

Free, Legal Music Online

Almost everyone has heard about the massive crack down on... Read More

Play Piano As Fast As Possible!

One of the rules of practicing we all hear over... Read More

Polychords and the Jazz Improviser: How to Practice & Apply Polychords to Improv

In the world of music, many Jazz improvisers and Classical... Read More

Reasons to Ditch Your Guitar Pick

Lately, I haven't been using my guitar pick all that... Read More

Your PC Is An Awesome Singer... If You Let It!

As an amateur songwriter, who struggles with a computer far... Read More

Adults Can Learn to Play the Piano Too

Are you well past puberty and have always had a... Read More

Is Your Child Struggling in School? Get Him (Or Her) Music Lessons

This is counterintuitive, I know. Our natural response to seeing... Read More

Name That Tune - Tips For When You Can?t Remember The Song Title Or Artist

For years, you have been searching for a song lodged... Read More

How to Play What you Feel

Many students think that being able to play what you... Read More

Piano Lessons For Adults: More Fun, Easier, & Faster Than Piano Lessons For Kids

Piano lessons for adults is generally LOTS more fun than... Read More

Writing Hit Songs

There are a lot of factors to writing a hit... Read More

How To Play Piano Using Chord Symbols

Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a... Read More

Bagpipe Lessons In Your Own Home !

Bringing Bagpipe Tuition to Everyone, Everywhere.I have been teaching music... Read More

Legend Vega Releasing New Pop CD

Legend Vega is scheduled to release her newest CD this... Read More

How to Create Interesting Textures

A lot of new age piano music consists of repeating... Read More

New Age Piano and Improvisation

There are so many areas in life where one must... Read More

How to Create a Multi-artistic Piece - Part II

In the last article, the creation of a theme, its... Read More

Music For Self Improvement

Would you like to pop in a CD and have... Read More

Suzuki Violin Vs Traditional Violin

The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way... Read More

Trusting Your Inner Voice - Key to Success at the Piano

We all have so many critical voices in our heads.Telling... Read More

Tips on Performing Your Music for Others

Have you ever dreamed of performing a piece you created... Read More

Structure Of A Successful Music Website

Ideally each page of your website should serve a specific... Read More

How To Write A Song

Did you ever wish that it was your song playing... Read More

Why Learning How to Improvise is So Important

Imagine asking a beginning writer to write a short story... Read More

Inspiration Wanted - Apply Within!

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for music students is... Read More

Five Secrets to Playing in the New Age Style

1. Learn how to ImproviseLearning how to improvise is the... Read More

Piano Playing and Performance Anxiety

I'll never forget the first time I played the piano... Read More

Music as Therapy?

Frustrated in a gridlocked?Job got you stressed out?The children have... Read More

Review: Medications - All Your Favorite People In One Place

One of the most intriguing aspects of music is how... Read More

Recording Vocals at Home

Anyone who has recorded vocals to tape knows there is... Read More

The Time Machine Exist!

We call it music, ever noticed how vividly music triggers... Read More

Radio - What?s Happened To It?

Remember when radio stations played great music?OK, before you accuse... Read More

Just 3 Chords? No Way!

A student wrote me an email about the lesson "Ocean... Read More