Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions

Piano arranging is the process by which you take a written piece of music and rework it with chords, adding new bass accompaniment, fills, or even slightly altering the song's structure. And while it's a process that takes years to truly master, anyone with a basic education in piano and a working knowledge of a few key techniques can create an inventive, satisfying arrangement. It all boils down to one thing: chord recognition. And anyone who plays a little piano can learn piano chords to add excitement to their piano playing.

Most people learn to play the piano by playing just the written music. Playing by written music is exactly what the phrase says it is -- playing the exact notation on a piece of sheet music. But playing by chord symbol is a little different. Instead of following the harmony note by note, you follow the chord symbols (i.e. C7 or F) written above the harmonies, filling in the gaps with...well, whatever you want as long as it sticks to those chords. Of course, you'll still read the melody (it is, after all, often what makes the song recognizable) but even that is completely open to interpretation. Playing by chord symbol allows you a freedom that playing by written music simply doesn't. The freedom to create. The freedom to invent. The freedom to arrange chord patterns in the way you want.

Does that mean playing by written music is less important than playing by chord symbol? Absolutely not! The ability to play by written music is an extremely valuable skill, one that even some of the most famous musicians don't possess. And while you don't necessarily need to know the skill backwards and forwards to create great arrangements, it's a tremendous help.

Think about it this way. Some of the most revered modern artists create paintings that look very simple, very rudimentary. But the majority of those artists went to art school for years before they began creating that sort of work. They learned the fundamentals of drawing and painting, of color composition and light; they learned to draw or paint something exactly as it actually looks. Only after they mastered those skills did they move on to create the simple, yet often innovative, work that hangs in galleries and museums -- work that still abides by several basic principles. They learned the craft before bringing their imagination into it; after all, you have to understand the rules in order to break them.

So after you have learned the basics of reading piano sheet music, consider learning chords and chord symbols (such as G7, Fm, etc.) and chord progressions. There are many places online where you can learn all about chords ? just type in "chords" or "chord piano" into your search browser, and you will find several to choose from. When you can both read the written sheet music and then add chords and chord progressions to your piano playing, you have the very best of all musical worlds.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and products such as DVD's, CD's, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He can be reached at http://www.chordpiano.com. He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Piano Chord Progressions" with over 56,650 current subscribers. Those interested may obtain a free subscription by going to http://www.playpiano.com.

---

Breathing Space in Music

While most students want to know when to play certain... Read More

Music Making as Spiritual Experience

If you've been playing piano for some time, you may... Read More

Creating Your Own Unique Music

Have you ever dreamed of penning your own compositions? Writing... Read More

Effective Band Rehearsal

If your band is in rehearsals, either preparing for gigging,... Read More

Interview With Josh Epstein of Vision Music USA

Vision Music USA is a proactive and progressive music service... Read More

The Art Of Practicing - How To See Real Results

I have always believed that success, in practically any subject... Read More

People are Turning to Meaningful Songs for Emotional and Spiritual Relief:

A New Breed of Aspiring Songwriters Is In The Making.... Read More

Shut Up And Sing

What is it with these performers and their politics? Do... Read More

Adults Can Learn to Play the Piano Too

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

Learn to Fiddle the Orange Blossom Special, the Most Popular Fiddle Tune in the World

Learning to fiddle the Orange Blossom Special is not easy,... Read More

Establishing Your Mix

Now that you've spent hours and days and weeks and... Read More

Try Some New Music!

Stuck in a music rut?It happens. After listening to your... Read More

Music for Corporate Entertainment

For many years I have supplied music for and played... Read More

How to Create Hip, Mature and Lush Harmonies

Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in... Read More

Music for Cross Cultural Accelerated Learning

The Search for the Right MusicEver since Georgi Lozonav, the... Read More

Karaoke Singing

This article is designed to help anyone to enjoy karaoke... Read More

Guitarists...Are You A Victim and A Loser?

I was thinking today about THE most dangerous enemy of... Read More

Make Money with Your Music ? the Top 5 Ways

Songwriters dream of making their living by writing, and sometimes... Read More

Ouch, It Hurts When I Sing!

When I first set out to write this article about... Read More

3 Secrets To Understanding What Makes Music Tick

It's no secret that virtually everyone loves music in some... Read More

Home Run Gigs

Are you still playing your heart out to small audiences... Read More

How to Get Past Creative Blocks

When I first began playing the piano and improvising, there... Read More

Getting the Best Performance From Your Artist

So now you've decided to record your songs. Good for... Read More

The Revolution of Electric Guitars

Sometime during the 1930's electric guitars were introduced onto the... Read More

You Cant Force Play

A student once asked me; "How come sometimes the music... Read More

New M3 with Competition Package

The new competition package available for the BMW M3 is... Read More

How to Create Backing Tracks If You Dont Play All the Instruments... or Any

Congratulations! Your singing has become amazing, and it's time the... Read More

Improvising On The Piano: Jazz Musicians Do It -- Why Not Other Styles?

Why jazz piano improvisation?Why not gospel piano improvisation?Is it not... Read More

Health Insurance for Creative Artists -- A Multi-Talented Health Investment

For the Creative Artist -- Good Health Insurance is Truly... Read More

How to Make $30,000 with Your Music Before Years End

As an independent musician and/or recording artist, if you did... Read More

Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions

Piano arranging is the process by which you take a... Read More

One Way to Improve Your Music Journalist Relationship

Boy, I really detest how some people do websites. Bands... Read More

Guitar Practice (Part 2) - Does Practice Make Perfect?

You've probably heard the saying "practice makes perfect" and it... Read More