# Piano question

Category: Jam Session

## Post 1 by The royal princess (Zone BBS Addict) on Monday, 30-Apr-2012 18:52:24

Hi I was wondering, say that you know a song and you can sing accapella. How do you know what cords back up each song? Like an accompaniment? For example, if I wanted to sing Amazing grace, how could I find out what the cords are? I learn a lot of my piano pieces by ear so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks very much.

## Post 2 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Monday, 30-Apr-2012 21:42:59

I don't know how you can, without music theory. That sounds like an impossible task without learning chord structure, something most people who take piano get for free, as it were. And if you learn Braille music, by definition you learn chords. When sighted people learn to read music, they see every note they are going to play. but with Braille, what's written are all the interval markings so you absolutely have to learn position.
I'm sure others will have other suggestions for how to make it work though.

## Post 3 by The royal princess (Zone BBS Addict) on Tuesday, 01-May-2012 6:09:12

Thanks, I appreciate your thought. Oh well. I guess my lessons are in vain.

## Post 4 by nicksharpmusic (Generic Zoner) on Wednesday, 16-May-2012 3:15:36

I agree that music theory is good to know. However, when it comes to singing accapello that you've heard the arrangement to, it is easy to pick out when and what chord changes are supposed to occur even without the harmonies to help guide you. The problem of distinguishing what chords should be played ina particular song when it's something that you haven't heard, and you're just left to guess and hope that you're making chord changes that at least make sense. That's where music theory could come in, but I think just listening to music and seeing how other songs are arranged, and you'll usuallly find that they're pretty similar for the most part. For instance, your typical traditional country or gospel song might go from the root/1 chord. If you're in C, that would be the root chord, then it might go to F (the 4 chord), then back to C (the 1 chord), then sometimes it goes to G (the 5 chord) or before going to the G/5 chord, it may go to the D major (which would be the 5 of the 5 chord). I hope that didn't confuse you too much, and if it did, I appologize. Hope that helps.

## Post 5 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Wednesday, 16-May-2012 12:56:46

Your description of 1 4 5 and 1 4 2 5 is music theory.
It's funny: people have ideas about music theory as though it were something really arcane. It's not: it's just a whole load of what you just described. It's the mechanical explanation for how various forms are put together. Simply put, it's the grammar and syntax of music.
You could probably write without any grammar instruction, but knowing how to put a sentence together means you actually know better how to express yourself.
Also memorization of music without learning how the parts fit sounds like a overwhelming and daunting task. There'd be parts you forget without realizing how or why.

## Post 6 by The royal princess (Zone BBS Addict) on Wednesday, 16-May-2012 22:33:37

Is music theory hard to learn? I do want to learn how to play the piano better, but I must admit I don't know how to read braille music very well.

## Post 7 by zackmack2000 ( extreme killer of the keys) on Wednesday, 16-May-2012 22:55:35

with me, I just learn everythign by ear, too. believe me. some people that I have played with over the years are amazed at how quick I can pick up on stuff, even if it's stuff i've never played before. as many bands as i've played with through the years, they all area amazed at this abillity I have. I used to play just 1 keybord with the band i'm in now, but now, I play 3, almost all at once. don't ask why or how I do it, because I really wouldn't know how to answer that.

## Post 8 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Thursday, 17-May-2012 11:23:19

Nice to see another double-decker or tripple-decker player. Haven't done it since the early 90s myself, but many of the young kids now claim that is old school. There is really no feeling quite like playing a stack of em now, is there? Generating that immense wall coming out!
Music theory isn't really that tough, and as I said, in a basic sense anybody who explains a chord progression style to you is explaining its theory.
Knowing how music fits together just lets you learn it quicker, be it by listening or reading, or as I often did, a combination of both plus jotting things down.
You may want to troll some of the boards for a search on Braille Music as there are other posts on here, a guy went by the username Motifated for one, his name's Lou so he says on here. Quite knowledgeable if you ask me.

## Post 9 by The royal princess (Zone BBS Addict) on Thursday, 17-May-2012 20:06:58

I want to learn everything I can about cords and progressions and changes and how to put songs together. I love piano so much. I want to learn how to play well not just half way.

## Post 10 by nicksharpmusic (Generic Zoner) on Friday, 18-May-2012 1:17:23

You're right. Music theory is definitely a good thing, and the 1-4-5 thing is music theory. However, at least for me, before I picked up on the theory of it all, I was able to pick out the chords and notice the fact that a lot of songs have the same general progression. This is not to discount the value of music theory in any way. But don't let being unfamiliar with it keep you from trying to learn how to use the knowledge that you already know. By the way, great singing on your audio profile thing, and great harmonizing!! Keep it up!

## Post 11 by The royal princess (Zone BBS Addict) on Friday, 18-May-2012 7:05:37

Thanks so much. I want to know the right way to play only because I want to be able to know what to do. Playing by ear is good for starters I suppose, but it gets old, especially when you want to fiddle around and compose a piece all on your own. I love Beethoven and chopan, sorry if I misspelled. I just want to be a good piano player, even though I will never play professionally. I just love the sound of how cords and melodies are put together and I want to be able to do the same thing other artests do. Thanks so much for all of your guys's answers, I really appreciate all the help I can get.

## Post 12 by nicksharpmusic (Generic Zoner) on Friday, 18-May-2012 12:24:32

You're welcome! The more knowledge you can get the better, so definitely learn at least the basics of music theory so that you'll be able to have a textbook understanding of how and why certain progressions and melodies are put together. I know juuuuuuuuuuuust enough music theory to be able to fake it to make it and get me both in and out of trouble lol!!!

## Post 13 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Friday, 18-May-2012 12:37:36

Learning propper fingering is the only way to be able to do really complicated passages also.
Honestly, since I cannot see I had no idea when I was helping someone with some stuff that his fingering was way way off, and he was unable to perform even some basic fast arpeggios or scale patterns in a song. It wasn't until someone else said to me: "You can't see it, but his fingers are in completely different places than yours."
Things like not putting the thumb on the black keys when you're doing a pattern, when the thumb goes under, things like that will not show up as a problem early on perhaps, but when you try to do something a lot more difficult, you will get stuck, and then you have to unlearn what you did and develop new patterns.
That's not music theory, that is piano technique, but still, learning it right will help you avoid hitting a paywall eventually.

## Post 14 by Darth Vader (Luke, I am your father.) on Wednesday, 29-Aug-2012 21:24:45

Leo, that's what I'm going through right now, learning correct technique. Erm, Need help! Any advice?

## Post 15 by The royal princess (Zone BBS Addict) on Thursday, 30-Aug-2012 4:48:19

Yeah I want to learn stuff too. I want to learn because I want to compose.

## Post 16 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Thursday, 30-Aug-2012 11:05:42

In short, I don't know how this would be done over the Internet. If you have access to WebBraille or soon it all will be on Bard, some of the basic Piano method books are pretty good. There's one out that I helped a girl with ten years ago called "Piano for the mature beginner." It's commercially available for anyone to purchase and the NLS Music Section has it.
Most piano method books start at the beginning with songs for little kids which can be rather unappealing for an adult learning.
Nothing will beat a decent method book and a real live human instructor though. Should be either one with eyes, or if they're blind, they have solved the problem I ran intowhich I described a couple posts back: not knowing that the person you're helping is doing everything wrong with their hands. It isn't enough to just do it right and think they will see it / do it like that. But also, I am not really much an instructor so a real one who is also blind would probably have already figured out a solution to that particular problem.

## Post 17 by Darth Vader (Luke, I am your father.) on Thursday, 30-Aug-2012 18:09:12

yeah true. do you know if bookshare might books like that?

## Post 18 by Dolce Eleganza (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Thursday, 25-Apr-2013 12:54:50

Actually this is rather complex, for music theory, technique and all this other stuff go together. With out the proper fingering, you'd not have a good technique, and without the technique music would not sound smooth and clean. I mean, you may develop bad habbits, and instead of learning things you might have to unlearn them. Braille music is rather cumbersome, yet learning it is important. So if you really want to pick up on music to compose, I'd suggest not to rely on the internet, try to find a teacher, a good professor who'll make you practice with consistancy and who'll not be passive about wrong fingering, sholder, rist and body position. Music is specific, and very competitive.