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.

Chandler Music Hall continues campaign
Boston Globe, United States - 1 hour ago
RANDOLPH, Vt.—The Chandler Music Hall in Randolph is kicking off the second phase of its $5 million capital campaign. The first $2 million for the ...

Des Moines music festival off to good start
Chicago Tribune, United States - 18 hours ago
AP DES MOINES, Iowa - Organizers say the opening day of Des Moines' new downtown music festival went off without a hitch. Optimism abounded Friday at the ...
DM music festival has harmonious day DesMoinesRegister.com
Music Festival Making First And Last Appearance At Park WHO-TV
'Lollapalooza started just as 80/35 did' UI The Daily Iowan (subscription)
DesMoinesRegister.com - WHO-TVall 21 news articles

Seattle Chamber Music Society's summer festivals: for newbies and ...
Seattle Times, United States - 9 hours ago
The Seattle Chamber Music Society's indoor/outdoor summer festivals offer something for chamber-music newbies and longtime fans. By Sumi Hahn Cellist Toby ...
Free lunchtime and after-hours concerts offer something for everyone Seattle Times
all 2 news articles

Hard Rock Park: Feel the music
Chicago Sun-Times, United States - 7 hours ago
But the Hard Rock Park is in Myrtle Beach, SC, an area better known for golfing than great music. Park visitors watch a fireworks show set to the music of ...

Eco-friendly details added to festival line up
Detroit Free Press, United States - 9 hours ago
While bands such as Widespread Panic and Drive-By Truckers were filling Rothbury with long hours of earthy rock music, the inaugural festival was busy ...
Rothbury: Saturday music preview MLive.com
Lively second day at the Rothbury Music Festival Detroit Free Press
Festival setting the 'green' standard MLive.com
MLive.com - Detroit Free Pressall 41 news articles

Free outdoor music schedule
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - 19 hours ago
Peavey Plaza: Macy's 24 Hours of Music. Friday: Peavey Plaza South Stage: Buckets & Tap Shoes, noon; Northern Latitudes Mandolin Quartet, 2 pm; ...
Top of the pops Minneapolis Star Tribune
Classical Lite Minneapolis Star Tribune
all 3 news articles

Financial Times
The Music Man, Chichester Festival Theatre
Financial Times, UK - 14 minutes ago
In 1958 The Music Man, a light-hearted romp celebrating the optimism of small-town America, won all the critics’ awards, triumphing over West Side Story . ...

BBC News
Music lovers attend 17th festival
BBC News, UK - 16 minutes ago
Thousands of music lovers have gathered in Surrey for an independent music festival's 17th annual event. GuilFest hosted about 200 acts over the three-day ...

For this banjo picker, it’s all about the music
Murfreesboro Post, TN - 2 hours ago
Bateson moved to Murfreesboro in 2004 from West Virginia to enroll in the recording industry program at MTSU and found a place where his music could grow. ...
Uncle Dave Days brings back childhood memories in its third decade Murfreesboro Post
all 3 news articles

Abba: 'We'll never play music together again'
NME.com, UK - 3 hours ago
Two members of ABBA have said that there is no chance the Swedish pop legends will ever play music together again. Both Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson ...
Mamma Mia, here we go again The Age
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson: We will never reform Telegraph.co.uk
In all honesty, what would life be ... without Abba in the ... Independent
all 280 news articles

Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

The Case Against Traditional Piano Lessons