basic chords under a melody
last lesson was sharps and flats, and key signatures without panic. this lesson is about the class ending soon and what you do after that. because at some point i won't be in the room, and you're going to need a way to look at a piece of sheet music you've never seen and figure out something reasonable to play with your left hand while the melody goes on top. that's what basic chords are for.
here's the thing behind the thing. most simple music, hymns, folk songs, a lot of pop arrangements, is built on a small handful of chords that repeat. once you can find those chords by looking at the key signature and the melody notes, you don't need someone standing over your shoulder telling you what to play. you can figure it out yourself. that's the whole point of this module, and it's why i'm spending real time on it instead of rushing to the next module.
start with the key you're in
you already know how to read a key signature without panicking, so use that. if you're in C major, no sharps or flats, your three main chords are built on C, F, and G. those three chords will carry you through an enormous number of simple pieces. this isn't a coincidence, it's called the I, IV, and V chords if you ever hear someone say that, and it comes up so often that it's worth just memorizing the pattern for a couple of common keys.
in C major: - C chord: C, E, G - F chord: F, A, C - G chord: G, B, D
in G major (one sharp, F sharp): - G chord: G, B, D - C chord: C, E, G - D chord: D, F sharp, A
notice the shape doesn't change, you're stacking a note, skipping one, stacking the next, skipping one, stacking the next. root, third, fifth. once your hand knows that shape, you can build a chord on almost any note, you just have to know whether the third is major or minor for the moment, which is more theory than i want to load on you today. for now, stick to major chords built on the root, third, and fifth of the scale.
matching chords to melody
here's the practical trick. look at the melody note on beat one of the measure. find a chord from your key that contains that note, or close to it. if the melody note is a G, and you're in C major, both the C chord and the G chord contain a G, so either one might work, and you try both and use your ear. this is the part where i tell you honestly, i'm slower at this than i'd like to be. i still sit there sometimes and test two chords against a melody note before i pick. that's fine. accurate beats smooth.
a decent starting rule for simple hymns and folk tunes: try your I chord (built on the first note of the scale) for most of the piece, switch to the IV or V chord when the melody seems to be pulling toward a change, usually right before the end of a phrase or right at the end of the piece before it resolves. play through slowly and listen for where it sounds wrong. wrong is useful information. it tells you to try the next chord.
practice steps for this week
- pick a hymn or simple piece you already know the right hand of. write the key signature at the top if you haven't already.
- figure out your I, IV, and V chords for that key using the stacking method above. pencil them in above the staff if that helps you, i still do this for anything unfamiliar.
- play the right hand alone first, no changes. just refresh it.
- add a simple left hand, one chord per measure, root position, whichever of I, IV, or V matches the melody note on beat one.
- play hands together at half speed. no faster. you know the rule by now.
a caution about your ear versus your eye
your ear is going to want to fix things before your eye has finished reading them. that's normal, and it's actually part of why chords come easier than melody reading for a lot of people, your ear already knows what "sounds right" even before you can name it. don't fight that instinct, but don't skip the naming either. name the chord you're playing. know why it works. otherwise you're back to playing by feel, and you hit a wall, same as the by-ear crowd always does around the third piece.
which brings me to the thing i wish someone had told me early on. when i first started teaching myself on my grandmother's old piano, i spent two full weeks convinced middle C was one specific physical key on that keyboard. i'd found it, I'd marked it in my head, i was building everything off it. turned out that piano was missing a key at the very bottom, the whole thing was shifted over, and everything i'd learned was built on the wrong note. i had to unlearn the entire keyboard and relearn it, and unlearning took longer than learning ever did.
i tell you that because chords are the same kind of thing. if you learn them wrong at the start, sloppy, guessing, no system, you'll have to unlearn the habit later, and that's slower than doing it right now while it's new. so when you pencil in a chord, check it against the stacking pattern. root, skip, third, skip, fifth. don't just guess a shape that sounds close and move on.
before next time
pick one piece you already know the melody to and pencil in I, IV, and V chords above three or four measures. don't play the whole thing, just get the chords written down and check them against the pattern before you touch the keys.