learn keyboard chords quickly

[artepobre]

well, I think that memorizing chords it's really important, though the thing doesn't end there: the real thing here it's how the tension works in hte chord progression... chords are the result of the relation of various single notes, so, what we really have are structures, their colour variate as the root note changes, but not the structure, once you've learnd the structure basics and the scales you'll find the chords by intuition... and you'll move forward to the song superstructure that diserves it's own post.

So, my advise, learn the scales and the chords structures. And by structure I mean, Major : root 3M 5

[Bobbotov]

this is a nice example of the sound i love, chords sound quite simple
but is very effective and with vocals etc its a great sound

http://www.gogo-music.net/media/gogovin ... al-Mix.mp3

what chords are used here ??


something else i need to get my head around is what key is being used,

Gmaj7, Fmaj7. It is in the key of G.

[Optomadic]

this is a nice example of the sound i love, chords sound quite simple
but is very effective and with vocals etc its a great sound

http://www.gogo-music.net/media/gogovin ... al-Mix.mp3

what chords are used here ??


something else i need to get my head around is what key is being used,

You also have to remember that Ralf (a good friend of mine and one of label heads of GoGo) uses some of the best top dollar session players out there today. Many that have been playing for years and tend to improvise and use unorthodox chords when playing progressions.

[leighbeynon]

really good friend of yours, very cool, he is a very talent producer,
i think if i memorise all maj chords just the triads to start with them i can learn how to change these to the other chords this could be a great place to start for me,

thanks for all the tips and replys here, very helpful forum, not like other forums at all !!

leigh

[rockstar_not]

Another worthy resource here if you are just getting started is to check out Scott Houston's method for learning pop piano.

If you want to learn classical methodology, avoid his stuff.

But if you want to learn how to improvise and play from chord charts, he really has a simple method that resonates well with SOME folks.

http://www.scotthouston.com/tv_shows.htm

I caught his method about 25 years too late. The way he teaches chord theory and comping is exactly the way chords work in my brain.

-Scott

[leighbeynon]

great many thanks to all that replie to me,

my piano teacher is now teacher me scales, first major scales,

ive written down all the sharps and flats to each key
to try and learn it and let it sink in !!

he tells me chords can be easily constructed from each scale,
im guessing once i know maj we will move on to minor

which im more interested in myself

ta leigh

[jopy]

wow, that i a fantastic skill you have, i would just be happy to be able to play my own chord progressions some day and create melodies that stay in key !

well alot more learning for me !!

Don't be intimidated, it's really something you can learn if you have any sort of natural aural ability and practice regularly. I'm sure BertKoor would say the same thing, so I'm not trying to trivialize what he can do, but it's a skill most musicians who work on ear training do acquire. Just get out there and listen to records you love, fiddling around until you get something that sounds right.

Knowing theory will help a lot in putting a system to what you're hearing so you can make better guesses, and over time the ears and the theory start to blend together. You will listen to records and hear chord progressions that you recognize, chord qualities, the works. And you'll start to realize that there really only are few basic chord flavors, that are transposed into different keys. Don't just memorize notes, memorize sounds at the same time. It's easier because you get a much simpler picture, and it's better musically. Very few (good) musicians are doing brain surgery calculations when they play, they've internalized the theory and it just rolls naturally.

I'd really advise you to make sure you take time for ear training every day, even just 15 minutes, playing along with records. I say this from my own experience of being terrified of transcription for years, until I finally tried it out with a cd player and a piano and found out that it's a lot easier than I would have guessed. I learned more music in a hurry that way than any other approach.

It might also help to work with GNU Solfege, which is a great free ear training program.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/solfege/

[Jake Jackson]

You might want to try learning the cycle of 4ths, too, which is the cycle of fifths, of course, in reverse. One large advantage is that the cycle of fourths is also the cycle of flats: each time you move to the next fourth chord, one additional flat is added to the scale. So you can start with C (no flats), go to F (1 flat), go to Bb (the same flat as in F and a new flat,) etc.

This sequence lets you learn the flatted notes without much memorization. (And the movement from a chord to its fourth is one of the most common movements in rock, folk, country, and gospel, so you'll need to learn it anyway...)

[Keith99]

Another book that may be of interest is Ricky Rooksbys' Write Songs on Keyboards. I found this opened my eyes completely to how to put chords together and make real songs

[leighbeynon]

really ? im a little cautious when im recommended books, as there is so mcuh info out there, so many technques etc,

i dont want to spend money on a book that gathers dust,
i do want to learn as much as i can and evntually sit down in from of my keyboard and write chords progressions and know what im doing,

ive only been haiving lessons for a year, so i think ive got a long way to go, if i can find something that would help me slot things into place quicker and really get to grips with this quicker i would welcome it !

ill read some reviews on this book, but at the moment i dont know chord symbols
i mean if i see Em9 i could evnetually figure it out after checkin my scale book

ta leigh

[Jokari]

this is a nice example of the sound i love, chords sound quite simple
but is very effective and with vocals etc its a great sound

http://www.gogo-music.net/media/gogovin ... al-Mix.mp3

what chords are used here ??


something else i need to get my head around is what key is being used,

Gmaj7, Fmaj7. It is in the key of G.

It's E minor, and the chords are Em9, Am9 and Bm7. But you're right, the minor seventh/ninth chord sounds somewhat major, and Em9 does contain Gmaj7.

(edit: ooh, nevermind, I only looked at page 3, but BertKoor roughly said the same thing page 2 and he may be right about the 9ths, can't really tell)

[james0tucson]

so as im interested in creating my own music and cord progressons,
sould i just get a book and memorise all maj,min, dim, aug, sus,7th,9th,13th chords ?

I teach from this, in a direction very similar to the one you're expressing in your message:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/082582 ... roduct_top

It's the only book I require my students to have, other than various flavors of sheet music of course.

[leighbeynon]

Another book that may be of interest is Ricky Rooksbys' Write Songs on Keyboards. I found this opened my eyes completely to how to put chords together and make real songs

after reading all the reviews and customer feedback on this book it sounding very appealing to me indeed

thanks for the tip

[wrench45us]

I would also recommend the Rikky Rooksby Songwriting for Keyboards (and all his songwriting series) as an excellent place to start

second to having a competent teacher, of course

[leighbeynon]

really yeah im gonna order this i think, i just need to learn my scales then i can figure out chords from there, then its a case of being able to recall them quickly, which i think is going to be the hardest part for me

ta leigh