piano lessons from a professional piano vocal entertainer who plays by ear first one free online now evolution.co.uk
So you want to know how to play piano without reading music? Try this!
First (you'll know if you already know enough not to have to do this), write the letters of the notes on the keys of the piano (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C etc.). This will make it a easier for you if you're a beginner (at least this is what I did when I started learning). If you haven't yet bought a keyboard and money's short, I'd suggest you buy one the packages produced by Evolution which are for sale in some computer superstores in the UK.
Evolution's attention to detail (like marking the letters "A,B,C,D,E,F,G" above the white keys on their keyboards) makes the packages good value for money and their software is excellent. Have a look at www.evolution.co.uk for more information on their products and by the way, I DO have Cubasis and some high end professional equipment and I still BUY and USE Evolution gear (I rate some of Evolution's software as being more inutitive and readily useful than the Cubasis VST I bought but I come to making music on PCs from years of experience using hardware sequencers from before the Windows GUI was invented). If you want software that works more like a tape recorder, make sure you check out Evolution products. After ages of having Cubasis on my PC, I still have to look at the manual. Evolution's software is stable as hell and even without looking at the manual, you're underway making music easily and quickly.
Evolution products are good stuff that get you making music dead fast and are likely to have most of the options and tricks you'll need as you progress and anyway, Evolution's web site carries loads of of awards from computer and / or music magazines verifying what I've just said about their products so you don't have to take my work for it. Their stuff is really pretty much bullet proof. If you get nowhere with their products, maybe you should just give up any idea of making music with computers and NO, I don't have shares or any connection with Evolution. I just rate their stuff highly.
Now to the lesson! Let's make life easy by doing everything in the key of "C"
Starting with a "C" (preferably "middle C", the "C" in the middle of the keyboard) play, C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C (that's all the white notes). What you should have heard, providing your keyboard is in tune, is a MAJOR C scale. A "major chord" consists of the 1st., 3rd. and 5th. notes of a major scale played at the same time in any order depending on the effect you want to achieve. So, if C is note 1 and D is note 2 and so on, a C major chord is made up of C, E and G, or E, G and C, or G, C and E. Add a C note on the bass (or two if your hand can stretch to play octaves) and you are on way to becoming a piano player. This is now a good time to make the following point.
ANY NOTE THAT APPEARS IN THE CHORD (played by the right hand) CAN BE PLAYED AS THE BASS NOTE! A C chord with an E bass is called a "first inversion" and you may see it written on music as "C/E". A C chord with a G bass is called a "second inversion" and would appear on music as "C/G"
Now lets try an "F" chord. Starting with an "F", preferably one near the "C" you just played, play F, G, A, B ..... hear something wrong? Yes? Good! There should be no "B" in this major scale. You need to play the B flat (the black note between the "A" and the "B"). Now try again! Play F, G, A, B flat, C, D, E and F. That's the F major scale. Once again, remember the rule that a major chord consists of the 1st., 3rd. and 5th. notes in the major scale. That means that if you play F, A & C (or A, C & F or C, A & F) you have an F major chord played with an F bass note.
To make you feel as if you're making some progress, try this .....
Play a C chord with a C bass, then the same C chord (right hand) again with an E bass and then an F chord. Sounds familiar? That progression is the basis of LOADS of songs. To beef up the sound even more, on the second C chord, play a D on the right hand instead of an E (right hand plays C, D, G, left hand plays E bass). Play it until you're sick of it.
If that chord progression was to appear writtem down, it would look like this ....
C . . . C/E . . . F . . . . . . .
Now try the same progression but, after the F, play the same right hand F chord "triad" (term used for the three notes played by the right hand as a part of the chord) but with a G bass. Then repeat it. See! The fingers on the right hand are hardly moving and the left hand is doing an easy series of steps up the bass notes (C, E, F, G). Feel as if you're making progress? I'm curious to see if this is too much to work out in one go for a complete beginner. Let me know how I'm doing as teacher!!!