Chords

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Retired
Got a keyboard, will play it split, chords on left.
never played piano.
Got a popular chords 'book' which says chords inversions mean less hand movement.
of course none start on the root, so remembering them might be a problem.
playing chords in root at least i could remember one note!

whch should i choose to play older pop tunes?
thx
 
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Less hand movement and also generally a nicer sound as you’re not hitting notes that are dramatically lower or higher in pitch which can detract from the prominence you’ll probably want to give the melody.

Learning chords and inversions is just like learning the alphabet or multiplication tables. Practice and repetition will get you there.
 
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Welcome.

This may help.

CHORDS
A Major chord consists of the Root note, the 3rd and the 5th.
A minor chord consists of the Root note, a flatted 3rd and the 5th.
A three note chord is referred to as a Triad.
With a C Major chord the C is the Root, the E the 3rd and the G the 5th.

Major chords - play a C Major chord, hold down the keys C E & G for C Major, now look at the number of keys between each of the held keys. You will find three unplayed keys between the C & E keys and two between the E & G, this is the same for all Major chords.

Minor chords - play a C minor chord, hold down the keys C Eb & G and as above you will find this time two and three unplayed keys between the held down keys.

Diminished chords - play a C diminished chord, hold down the keys C Eb & Gb as above you will find two and two unplayed keys between the held down keys.

In the above descriptions the finger counting works for any Root note

CHORD INVERSIONS
Root chords - C Major is (left to right) notes C E G played together.
1st inversion is E G C
2nd Inversion is G C E

Exercises.
Play a C Major with a single hand starting at Middle C (called C4), now play C Major starting on C5, then again on C6.
Now play Major chords C F G in sequence moving from C4 right along the keyboard, notice the amount of movement you have to do.
Now look at playing the same sequence using chord inversions and work out the most efficient way of playing each chord.
 

Rayblewit

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Hi @green33 . . . Welcome!
What you described in your intro post is EXACTLY like me :)
Retired and never played piano!
I also learned chord inversion method from scratch.
Glad I did because it is so easy changing chords throughout a piece.
eg. F chord (inversion) > Dm (inversion) A very common transition.
Pinky on A, Thumb on F, Pointer finger alternates C and D

whch should i choose to play older pop tunes?

My first ever pop tune I played was Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"

Easy one to start with . .

Good Luck
cheers
Ray
 
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Thanks CowboyNQ but is it just lots of memorization?

"Play a C Major with a single hand starting at Middle C (called C4), now play C Major starting on C5, then again on C6."
that is piano style.
Keyboard style is only on the left.

"I also learned chord inversion method from scratch."
did you memorize lots of chords?

All your help is appreciated.
 
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Go into your Profile and select Preferences and then check the boxes for the type of response you want.

BTW
I note what you say about keyboard style but please practice right hand chords to develop your skills.

If you play along to a song or accompany a singer or sing yourself you will not be playing right handed melody lines you will be playing chords right handed and initially simple left hand patterns like root and octave.
 
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Thanks Biggles
what is this ? adverts?
"Enabling push notifications requires a supported device. Enabling push notifications will enable them for this device only. If you log out of this device, you will need to re-enable push notifications."
 

happyrat1

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To easily learn chords properly just remember

1,4,3 is a major chord.

1,3,4 is a minor chord.

Don't worry about Dim and Aug and 7ths and 9ths yet.

For the inversions just find each of those three correct notes closest to your last hand position.

For more information on chords and theory check out the Tutorials Threads here on the Forum.



Gary ;)
 
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Thanks Biggles
what is this ? adverts?
"Enabling push notifications requires a supported device. Enabling push notifications will enable them for this device only. If you log out of this device, you will need to re-enable push notifications."
It is thanks to the adverts that we have the forum.
 

Rayblewit

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"I also learned chord inversion method from scratch."
did you memorize lots of chords?

Yes!

You need to learn first.

You cannot go counting 1,4,3 in the middle of a tune. Learn the chord make up . . then play it .
When you play it a few times it will be embedded into your muscle memory.

Learn first. Take your time.
Memorizing will be instictive.

I am no expert. My advice is unorthodox and based on personal experience. You have the chord inversion booklet so just follow the pics. . . Cheers Ray
 

SeaGtGruff

I meant to play that note!
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Thanks Biggles
what is this ? adverts?
"Enabling push notifications requires a supported device. Enabling push notifications will enable them for this device only. If you log out of this device, you will need to re-enable push notifications."

No, I believe "push notifications" refers to those pop-up notifications you get on your computer or tablet or phone while you're doing something else, which (in this case) let you know that a new post has been added to a thread you're watching. It doesn't have anything to do with ads. You can leave it turned off if you don't want to get any pop-up notifications on your device, in which case you'll need to check your emails (if you've enabled that option) to see whether you've gotten a reply. With push notifications, you're notified of a reply without having to check your email.
 

happyrat1

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Yes!

You need to learn first.

You cannot go counting 1,4,3 in the middle of a tune. Learn the chord make up . . then play it .
When you play it a few times it will be embedded into your muscle memory.

Learn first. Take your time.
Memorizing will be instinctive.

I am no expert. My advice is unorthodox and based on personal experience. You have the chord inversion booklet so just follow the pics. . . Cheers Ray

This guy sounds like he barely knows what a chord is Ray.

Baby steps. Learn what a chord is, what's a major chord and what's a minor. Then he can learn to play that first chord up and down the scale. THEN he will have memorized all of the major scales and can move on to the minor. In the meantime he can always pick up a friendly score and learn to play it barre by barre, phrase by phrase until it's committed to muscle memory and in the meantime have a little fun in between but after a couple of months he will start to realize that it is burned into his brain and fingers.

If you REALLY want to learn to have fun with a keyboard then you need to learn the basics of music theory.

Remember... Walk, Don't Run....

But we're also not a bunch of bratty ten year olds either. Mature people have the capacity to learn new languages and symbologies far exceeding those which are the stuff of private piano tutors.

Keyboards take a bit of patience and commitment before you are able to play anything better than Old Kentucky Road or Jingle Bells at Xmas, but some adults have motivation and endurance that some "potentially brilliant prodigies :p" are lacking in their bored little heads.

An adult can set his eyes on the prize and learn much more quickly than any unmotivated 12 year old.

But I say if he wants to learn there are no other shortcuts.

Gary ;)
 

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