The Very First Thing You Need To Know

Like most things in general, the basics of playing a piano are very simple. There are only about five things you need to know to be playing piano right now! Of course, playing classical piano would require years of study, but if you want to start playing immediately, right now, you’ll know everything you need to do that by the time you finish reading this article. So the first thing you need to know is this:

It really is that simple

Now, there are a few things you’ll need. If you’re not one of the fortunate people that have a piano lying around, don’t despair! One of the inherent advantages to playing piano, (rather than, maybe, trumpet), is that digital keyboards are plentiful and cheap! In fact, I’m not exaggerating when I say you could teach everything on a board from Toys R’ Us that you could on a Boesendorfer grand piano! So, if you don’t have a piano-style keyboard handy, now would be a great time to get one.

Next, you need a blueprint of a project to start working on, so your next step will be to select what song you want to begin with.

If you bear these two points in mind, it will make selecting “that first song” both simple, and as productive as possible. First, start simple! You have to walk before you can run, and a huge proportion of popular music from the last half-century really is built on three or four different chords. So, choose a piece that doesn’t have too many changes.

And second: choose a song that you really, really want to be able to play! I know that sounds obvious, but one reason we’re all intimidated at the prospect of learning to play is that we’re led to believe we have to learn “Turkey in the Straw”-type songs “because we’re familiar with the melody”. Well, I’m a firm believer in not learning anything unnecessarily! If you’re going to go to the trouble of learning it, you may as well enjoy the ride. Also, learning on a song you choose will make everything you learn much easier to remember.

As to the blueprints themselves… any music store will have “fake books”. These are generally books of multiple titles of songs grouped by artist, genre, etc. If you choose to buy one, make sure the music in the book is printed with “chord indicators”. This is a letter printed above the staff, somewhere between “A” and “G”. (The letter may be followed by the symbols “#”, sharp, or “b”, flat, as well as numbers. They too will be explained).

But, as long as you’re looking at a computer screen, the Internet is chock-full of sites that have charts available. I recommend using a site such as the On-Line Guitar Archives, where they provide “chord charts” for thousands of titles, free of charge. (Chord structure applies to guitar exactly the same as it applies to piano).

So, you now have selected a song to learn, you have the chart handy, and you’re sitting at a piano-style keyboard. Now, I remember being in third grade music class, and being told where a “C” was on a piano, as well as what letters applied to the lines and spaces of a staff. Do you?

If not: “C” is the note immediately to the left of the two black keys next to each other. Any two black keys sitting by themselves will have a “C” note next to them. There are five lines and four spaces. The spaces are, (starting from the bottom, “F”, “A”, “C”, and “E”. The bottom line is “E”, followed by “G”, “B”, “D”, and “F”. The easiest way to remember which line is which is the memory device “every good boy does fine”.

And it all begins with chords.

What Is A Chord, and Why Should I Like One

Each note has a distance between it and any other note. This is referred to as the “interval” between two notes. You’ve probably already noticed that some white notes have a black note between them, and some don’t. Well, a “C” note provides a handy place to explain that, so put a finger onto the middle “C” on your keyboard.

The first thing you notice is that the white key to the right of that “C” note has a black key between them, and the white key to the left of it does not. So, the interval between your “C” and the white key below it is said to be a “half step”, and the interval between the “C” and the next white note above it is referred to as a “whole step”.

You probably already know that if you play only the white keys, starting on any “C” and going up, the notes are referred to as “D”, “E”, “F”, “G”, “A”, and “B”, respectively. The following statement is all you need to known to play the first chord of the song you’ve selected.

One. Three. Five.

Now, look at the letter that is indicating what chord to play first. I’m going to use a “C” chord, because you already know where the “C” note is!

Now; if we call the “C” note “#1”, then if you count up, in whole steps, you will find an “E” note is “#3”, which we will call “the third”. If you count up a one whole step from the third, and then go one half step higher, you will hit a “G” note, which we will call “the fifth”. If you play notes #1, #3, and #5 together, you will be playing a “C chord”!

But what if your song starts with a chord indicator other than “C”? The exact same principles apply!

Let’s take an “F” chord as an example. You already know how to find which note is an “F” note, so put your finger on one now.

Next, count up one whole step, (which is a “G” note), and another whole step, which gives you the “1” and the “3”, (an “A” note). Count up one whole step, then one half step, from the “A” note, (the “C” note), and that will give you the 1, 3, and 5 notes for an “F chord”!

So far, you now know that a “C chord” is played on the notes of C, E, and G, (1, 3, and 5), and an “F chord” is played on the notes F, A, and C, (likewise, 1, 3, and 5). And that really is all you need to know to figure out any chord! Locate the note that shares the name with the chord indicated, count up two whole steps, count up three more half steps, and you have that chord!

Unless the chord is written as a minor chord. (Example: “Dm” rather than “D”). To play a minor chord, all you have to do is take the “3 note”, (called a third), and drop it one-half step! And that is all you need to do to play any major or minor chord on a piano!

Just remember this: if the chord indicated has only the letter, it’s 1-3-5. If the chord indicated is a minor chord, it’s 1-b3-5. This would be a good time for you to figure out what’s in a Bbm (pronounced “bee-flat minor”) chord.

First, find Bb. You’ll find it is the highest black key before a “C” note. Two whole steps higher is a “D” note, and a one-and-one-half step above that is an “F” note, since the interval between an “E” and an “F” is only a half step. That tells you the 1-3-5, and as it’s a minor chord, play the third, (the “D” note) one half step lower. If you’re playing the right notes, it should sound gothic and mournful. In letter terms, you’re playing a Bb, a Db and an F.

Is There An Easy Way To Remember Everything?

Yes, there is; and not only does it make finding the other two notes of your chord easier, its going to make the chord you play sound much wider and fuller. Here’s what you do: first find a note that matches the chord indicated, and put your left thumb on it, (the “bass” note). Now, find the exact same note, one octave higher, and put the ring finger of your right hand on it, (the “high note”).

Call the note you hit with your left thumb, the “1”. If you find the third and the five, then you can play the one as a bass note with your left hand, the three and five with the thumb and first finger of your right hand, and you will have the “tonal note” at both the top and bottom of your chord! I’ll illustrate using a “G” chord.

Find a G note. 1=G. Count up two whole steps to a “B” note, put your right thumb on that, 3=B, up one whole step to a C#, and up one half step to a “D”, 5=D.

So, if you play only one note with your left thumb, and the third, the fifth, and the “tonal”, with your right hand, then you really only need to make sure your left thumb and right ring finger are on the notes indicated as the next chord, and your finger positions will remain exactly the same, no matter which chord comes next!

No matter what the next chord is, if you move your hand position to the tonal of that chord on both the top and bottom, you can leave your finger positions the same, as the chord will be a 1-3-5, (or 1-b3-5, if minor).

And, to play a song right now, from a chart of music, that really is all you absolutely need to know. Left to right: 1-3-5-1 (one octave higher). Next chord; same intervals. Repeat as needed.

Beyond the Basics

Of course, there is rather more to music theory than just major and minor triads. And, if requested, I’ll be more than happy to write a follow-up article explaining sevenths, diminished chords, key structure, compound chords…

But for now, you have a new skill. Have a great time, while amazing your friends!