PianochordFinder.org
This site is an informational site about piano chords and other piano and music related topics. It is maintained by Nathan Andersen. To contact, please email jederengel@hotmail.com
Learning Chords:
If you want to learn how to play piano chords it is good to learn a little theory. You'll want to know when you are playing the root of the chord or the 3rd of a chord. You'll want to know not just the shapes on the piano, but how to move those shapes around. That's what I love about chord finders. I used the same logic to create these chord finders that I teach in my book "How to Speed Read Piano Chord Symbols". Only with a chord finder, a computer is doing the logic for you! If only it were that simply when we sit down at the piano! Well that's why we study. If you do choose one "piano chord book", I hope it's "How to Speed Read Piano Chord Symbols".
The Right Teacher:
"You're a lazy little girl. A naughty little girl!" The tales of evil music teachers who scare children away from music are legendary. You don't want your child to deal with a sadist, and you'd like them to learn to love music. Well, how do find a music teacher that will inspire? That will create such an excitement about music that your child (or yourself!) will want to practice? MORE
Note Name Invaders
A GAME TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE NOTE NAMES
This free flash game helps you learn to read the notes on the treble clef. In this game you will will fire plasma balls (by pressing the space bar) from your ship at blocks containing on of seven note names (A, B, C, D, E, F, or G). The block will then explode and the note will be shown on the staff. This game exploits the "osmosis" method of learning. You'll familiarize yourself with the notes by seeing and hearing them. You'll get more benefit out of the game if you actually try to notice where on the staff each note falls after you've exploded it's block. Free Note Reading Game
Key Signature Invaders
Here's another version, only this time, it teaches the key signature symbols as well. (posted 9/16/2006)
"Lord of the Ear" Ear Training Software
NEWS FLASH! Newly released software
"Lord
of the Ear" is a software program written in flash that teaches
how to play the piano by ear, and how to think about music in a way
that makes it more tangible -- using solfeggio. What is solfeggio? Sofeggio
is the ancient art of solemnizatiom. That means singing unique syllables
on each note of the scale. Eventually, you'll think in solfeggio. Instead
of just hearing a pitch, you think about where you are in the key,and
have a history of knowledge about how that pitch relates in this key,
or in other keys. This sort of information is invaluable to anyone wanting
to sight-read, compose or play by ear. This software was written and
tested on my own sight-reading students. It have shown dramatic improvement
in just over two months. Before, I used other software or just made
up exercises. But the exercises in this program are better because they
are randomized and systematic. For a beginner it may take a little exploration
to get the hang of it. That's why the first exercise in the program
is simply a "call and response" format, in which you click
on a piano image (in the program) and repeat patterns in solfeggio.
You'll want to sing the note to yourself (in your head, or out loud
if you like). Over time, you will start to understand how the pitches
relate. There is a key randomization feature that will change the key
on each new question, or you can leave it unselected to focus on just
one key at a time. Of course, you will probably want to start with the
key of C because it is easier and because once you know the key of C,
all the other keys can be thought of as transpositions of the key of
C. Try the "Lord of the Ear"
demo
Purchase LORD OF THE EAR (ear training software):
US$39.95
WINDOWS:
MAC:
Learn Notes Tools:
These free tools help you learn to read the treble clef.
Learn the Note Names on the Treble Clef
Play a game to help learn the notes on the Treble Clef
Play a different game to help learn the notes on the Treble Clef
The same game altered to teach the key symbols as well
Learn Notes Quiz:
This tests you on the most important notes on the treble clef, as well as providing some helpful mnemonics for the lines and spaces.
How to Count:
How to count the four most basic rhythms.
Go to the "How to Count" tool -- the sequel(16th and 8th notes mixed)
Go to the "How to Count" tool -- half-time comparison
Scanning a measure to determine where the quarter notes are
Learn your Major, Minor, Harmonic
Minor and Melodic Minor Scales:
This tool will help you learn your scales in all12 keys. Posted 9/21/2006
Go to the Solfeggio Invaders Game
for questions, contact jederengel@hotmail.com
Lord of the Ear Demo- Posted on 9 /10/2006
More Free Music Tools - Posted on 8/1/2006
Use the Fourth:
Western harmony is built on fourths and fifths. If you study the overtone series you'll see how these most harmonious of intervals are the foundation of chords and chord theory. Finding fourths on the keyboard is not too difficult. Just skip four keys (The fourth -- isn't is ironic -- is the fifth key away from the root. )
You'll see fourths from the root of the chord down to the fifth of the chord. and you'll also see them between the 3rd and 6th of a chord, such as in 13th chords or 6/9 chords. Also you'll see fourths between the 7th and 3rd of both Major and Minor seventh chords. Because of the prominance of fourths in chords, I use them as a starting position to find chords, such as in my book, "How to Speed Read Piano Chord Symbols". -- Nathan Andersen
Here is a demonstation of how to find fourths.
Once you have seen how to find fourths, check out this demo on how to use fourths to find major chords.
Now you can use a little expanded logic to find all different types of piano chords.