WHERE TO START?

[boyfromnyc]

Hey KVR,

When I start playing on piano I want to know what chords can be played and sound nice, what chords I can combine and what not.

So, where to start?

[ere2learn]

Plenty of stuff on youtube & forums,but I'd recommend this course,I used it get basic theory down,well worth it

https://www.creativelive.com/courses/mu ... llection_4

[Singular Force]

If you are really interested in learning that kind of thing, you need to learn specifically scales such as major and minor because chords are made up of scale notes but played at the same time rather then individually. also keys are important to this, same major keys, minor keys.

but in a nut shell any major key for instance the most basic key C major always has three major chords, three minor chords and one half diminished or minor7 b5 (same thing) chord, so in C it's C major, D minor, E minor, F Major, G Major, A minor and B half diminished.

Notice this progression of: major,minor,minor,major,major,minor and halfdim. it is repeated in every major key. hopefully this helps, if not at least you can copy this and now play chords that sound okay together in C major, but remember its not really the chords that will sound good if you just play them from 1 to 7 it is in what order you use them that makes it sound good and then cadences, but that look into that as this is getting a bit wordy.

[HolisticSongwriting]

Hey boyfromNYC,

Agree with everyone else, if you're a pianist you should really get into music theory.
In the meantime, you can download this long list of usable chord progressions:

http://blog.holistic-songwriting.com/14 ... gressions/

I use it whenever I'm stuck or when I need to write something quickly. Very handy.

All the best,
Friedemann

[dark water]

Always start with A minor.
That's my (possibly rather boring) favourite - great for dub reggae skanks.

Though it's probably about time I started off with something like E flat minor or E flat major for a change.

[D-Fusion]

[Zookes]

Try this:

also this similar thing:

Check out the Coursera (free online education) entry.

Not knowing your background in music, maybe start here (take notes), figure out what you don't know, and practice that stuff until you acclimate to the level of course in the videos.

Theory and technical stuff should be internalized to the point that you don't think about it, like speaking any language. Starting out, maybe you have some incorrect grammar here and there, maybe you have to re-explain yourself a few times to get the point across because you lost your train of thought while worrying all the complexities of arrangement, projection, and presentation. Eventually, through conversation and such practice, you understand how to make your points and keep relevant to your ideas - maybe even make them interesting and entertaining.

Music is like this, too.

[logburner]

It takes time, but start with 12 Major Scales in The Circle of 5th (C-F-Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-B-E-A-D-G-C) and their Modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian).

Once you memorise 12 x 7 = 98 scales, you'll be able to stack notes within a scale to create a chord which you can progress to another within same major/minor scale like typical 2-5-1 or 4-5-1 progression. At this stage you could learn the functions of chords such as Sub-Dominant, Dominant and Tonic.

The rest is about alteration. For altering notes within the chords you've already learned, you could use Diminished Scales, Whole-Tone Scales, Melodic Minor Scales and some other exotic scales.

[JumpingJackFlash]

where to start?

Find a teacher.

That's the best advice anyone can give you. The internet is full of bull written by people who either haven't got the first clue what they're talking about (because they read it on the internet too), or else do know stuff but can't put it into a way that's accessible for a newbie and tend to start with stuff that's far too advanced and likely to cause you more harm than good.

You will learn a lot more efficiently from a teacher. The interactive process is invaluable, and worth a lot more than anything you can get online.

[ATN69]

+1 for the teacher. I am self taught and started playing my first songs at the age of 3. When I was 16 yo I went to music school where I had to un-learn many things and learn the correct way. One example is finger placement. I am a decent Jazz pianist but I suck at classic music because of my finger placements.