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FIXED TIMESTAMPS: Intro (Basic Music Theory) 6:01 - Basic Major 6:38 - Basic Minor 7:25 - Dominant seventh (chords ending -7, e.g. G7, Eb7) 8:27 - Minor seventh (chords ending -m7) 9:05 - Major seventh (-maj7) 9:50 - Sixth (-6 or -m6) 11:50 - Ninth (-9) - NB, I don't mention this in the tutorial but the minor ninth (-m9) is the -m7 with an added major third. 12:25 - Major ninth (-maj9) 13:17 - Added ninth (-add9) 14:27 - Suspended fourth (-sus or -sus4) 15:54 - Diminished and diminished seventh (-dim or -°; -dim7 or -°7) 17:44 - Augmented (-aug or -+) Outro
I’ve been playing for a while now. Only memorizing keys I remember for a song. I’ve been putting these types of videos off thinking I’d just get confused, but I’m in literal tears from understanding it all now.
Hey Bill, I have been looking at a bunch of tutorials on basics, and yours is the best I have seen. I have some experience on the piano, but you can never be too good on the fundementals.
I just started playing piano, and oh my is this the most helpful tutorial I've came across. Just learning how to form different chords makes it so much easier.
Glad it's useful, Cody - give me a shout if you have any questions or need any help on any of this stuff. If you've just started, you might find my beginners' series useful, too. Playlist here: ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs
Thank you so much sir!i have been playing guitar for 14 yrs n always had interest in piano but never tried it until i realized how important it was at composing songs in a studio environment.i was just starting n i stumbled upon your videos.since then never looked back.your lessons have been very helpful.very clear n simplified.very easy to catch up i should say.thank you so much.i thought learning piano would be hard but with teacher like you im finding it easy n fun till now.
Beautifully explained - I wish someone had explained it so simply a long time ago. If it seems complicated/u just cycle back & re-run the video & it should make sense
I have just strated to learn piano and I understood everything about chords in just an hour practising together with this video. Amazing job. I am very grateful
After playing guitar for years, I'd always tried and failed constantly to learn piano or grasp any music theory, and here you go making it all so simple to understand!!! Thank you so much for giving a simple, no frills approach! Finally feels like I have a solid point to start practicing chords along to songs!
You crazy G, been playing self taught guitar for years and never actually understood chords just memorized them. Recently trying to play piano and man it’s awesome, you made everything look like a simple equation , just replace the variable and boom ! That major plus minor 3rd just counting the keys is awesome !!! I couldn’t understand in the beginning why Am looked like a C major. And I got it !!
I've played classical for over 40 years, now trying to learn chords. It's mind-boggling and overwhelming at this point. Your videos have been helpful. I'll keep watching them and practicing. Thank you!
Tried to summarize the video, he explains it much better than I do though. Apologies in advance if I’ve gotten anything wrong. For the names, the dashes are not included when you’re in practice naming a chord. The Names of the Major and Minor Chords are simply the names of their root (first) note. - Major Chord: Major Third + Minor Third - Minor Chord: Minor Third + Major Third - Dominant Seventh (ChordName-7): Major Chord + Minor Third - Minor Seventh (ChordName-m7): Minor Chord + Minor Third - Major Seventh (ChordName-maj7): Major Chord + Major third Nice sound! - Sixth (-6): Major Chord + 6th degree of scale - Minor Sixth (-6): Minor Chord + 6th degree of scale Instead of counting from the root of the key, to build them simply take the last note of the major or minor chord and add another whole tone. The Sixth chords are used often in jazz. Interesting: F6 is an inversion of Dm7. What name we choose depends on the base note. - Major Ninth (-maj9): Major Seventh Chord + Minor Third - Ninth (-9): Dominant Seventh + Major Third - Minor Ninth (-m9): Minor Seventh + Major Third - Add Ninth (-add9): Major Chord + 9th note of the Major Chord’s Octave. Now voice the other chords, keeping the added 9th note where it is. Voicing means adding on another octave the notes of the chord, removing those same notes from the chord. This is done to make the chord sound more dynamic and the notes less clustered. - Suspended Fourth (-sus4): Major Chord + the note of fourth degree (four steps) from the root of the chord. Voicing and inversions are used here too. - Diminished (-dim): Minor Third + Minor Third - Diminished 7th (-dim7): Minor Third + Minor Third + Minor Third - Augmented (-aug or -^+): Major Chord, but increase Fifth note (last note) by one semitone (one note up) Often, the name of the chord will give how to build them. For example, C Seven Flat 5th (C7b5) means take the C7 chord and make the note of fifth degree flat. You can use common sense to work these things out. His book is great btw :)
I don't even have a piano but this is great! I can see how it applies to the chords on my guitar and how I can build new chords from them. I could always add fingers on or move them to hear how it affects the voicing, but to know why doing certain things works really well and others don't is great and why the chords are shaped the way they are in the first place!
I have not gotten through the whole video, but the part about different chord voicings at 4:30 is very helpful. I understand basic music theory and I can form most triads, but I didn't know that to make a more full sounding chord, you just added more of the same notes. I tried this on guitar as well and it works. I got confused when trying to take piano to guitar because I could only play triads on piano, but guitar usually had 4-6 notes at once. It's just the same 3 notes repeated at different octaves. I tried this with many of the basic chords on guitar and it worked every time. This blows my mind that it's so simple and I missed. This is very useful in knowing about the structure of chords and making chords more complex and full. I know that there is a lot more to chords than that, but it'll help a whole bunch since I'm teaching myself piano and I'm a beginner. It'll also help with guitar, ukulele or any instrument I learn even though I'm intermediate at guitar and ukulele already. It's still useful because I can figure out certain chords and learn chords a bit easier. Thanks a whole bunch!
I just finished the video. This was a lot better than I expected. I thought that you would just say "this is C, this is Am, this is F, etc" but you actually explained how to form the chords instead. Many tutorials just show how to play specific chords, but not how to form the chords and other chords like it. Some of this, I already knew, but it was a good refresher and there was plenty I didn't know which really helps. The only thing I didn't quite understand was the suspended chords. I know how to play some of them on guitar, but I didn't quite grasp how they were formed in the video. But other than that, it was very clear and understandable. Great video. I'll probably refer to this several times in the future if I forget how to form a certain chord.
+David William A. Thanks very much for the kind words, David - I'm really glad you found it so useful. The suspended chords thing is tricky, because - as with added ninths, dims and augs - the theory underlying them is fascinating but complex (read: "I studied it all years ago but I'm a bit rusty..."), and I was aware of the risk of opening Pandora's Box and flummoxing people. It's another of those topics I did a tutorial on about four years ago, but which I'm a bit embarrassed about now (poor sound, video quality, etc.) So it's an area I might revisit sometime soon...
+David William A. I remember going through exactly this a year back thanks to Bill It's the coincidence of music which makes it seem extraordinary. So many ways of describing the same thing - so many avenues and yet when you actually play them they end out feeling incredibly simple
This is great. I've had a burning desire to play piano for years, so I stumbled onto your channel out of a sort of idle curiosity. Your joy in teaching the subject matter is so palpable that I watched the entire thing despite the fact that I've never played. Alas, too late for me....but your tutorials are wonderful!
Thanks Fred - it's very kind of you to say so! I have some background in teaching (English literature rather than music) and have long thought that a prerequisite for good teaching is to have an intense interest in the subject matter. In fact, being intensely interested in it is in some ways more important than a high level of mastery of the skill in question (there are many, many, many people out there who are much better at playing the piano than I). But education is a whole different subject... thanks again!
This indeed is epic, name of the video really follows up. I'm only a beginner and in this simple video you showed me so clearly how to read and make chords it's unreal. Thank You, I owe you one.
Wow, this video filled in a lot of missing pieces in my music theory knowledge. Thanks a lot! I want to learn as much as possible to be able to compose something decent in the future. Although I will not study music for my career, it is one of my greatest passions ❤️
This is.so.cool...thanks for teaching how to get chords...ive just been 2months learning piano and no one teach me,just watching on youtube like this..thanks for sharing this..may the godbless you...
Hello ! I'm an autodidact guitarist, and i'm about to learn piano the same way. I wish someone gave me those basics music theories sooner ! Amazing, thanks a lot mate !
This is by far the best piano tutorial I’ve ever found on RUclips. Very concise, straight to the point while still explaining the reasoning behind everything, and perfectly informative like it should be. Bravo my friend!
This is a lot to take in for a beginner -- but I like your teaching style which is very clear and precise. I'll need to take this in small bits and come back after working on it. Thanks!
Thanks Lydia! I try to do bits and pieces for people that might help people having formal instruction, as well as self-teachers, so it's good to hear from a pro that I'm getting at least something right!
Thanks for the fantastic summary. I've only recently come back to the piano after a very long recess. This tutorial has allowed me to quickly re-learn things long forgotten. Your descriptions of chord structures make mastering chords much easier and I reference your structural descriptions often. Well Done!
Glad it was helpful, Derric - you're very welcome! Give me a shout if you ever have any questions/problems as you go through the relearning process. It sometimes takes me a little while to reply (I get a lot of questions...) but I'm always happy to help if I can :)
Thanks, Bill. I've been learning for 7 years already but my chord knowledge was sketchy at best. This has really helped especially since I'm now having a break from learning classical and playing around with pop and blues.
Thanks for this. Im self taught using Synthesia and practically know nothing on chords, however through messing with piano for 6 years now, ive Kind of picked up on things like "It doesnt matter how you play the chord, as long as the notes are of said chord" (Voicing or what ever its called :P ) Its very pleasing to know that this is a fact and not just a fumble of playing a bunch. Again thank you for this, i unfortunately havent taken much of the chord knowledge with me But this was invaluable for pattern recognition.
I began playing the piano as soon as I could reach the keys (with an age of roundabout 2 Years I guess). Ever refused to learn notes, never stopped composing and playing way over 30 years now - and never knew what I was playing - it just sounded good. Now all makes sense to me and I am encouraged to learn and write notes :D Thanks so much!
No problem at all - you obviously have a ton of natural musicality anyway, but it's good to hear my stuff is helping you! If you haven't seen it already, do take a look at my beginners' series - clearly you're anything but a beginner, but it will take you through the process of learning to read and write score: ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs
As a guitarist of nearly 15 years who just got a midi keyboard for the 1st time this has helped me immensely. It feels strange that I have more of a grasp on theory from this video alone on the keys that I do on a guitar lmao.
You're welcome! Stuff is often much easier to visualise on a keyboard, I find - when I was a kid, my guitar teacher always used a piano to demonstrate theoretical stuff (maybe because he knew I was having piano lessons, too: even so, it helped!)
There is also a strange chord called the Dominant seventh flat five chord. ..( not to be confused with the minor flat five / half diminished ) The C dominant flat five is c -e-gflat -b flat Reason why I find it strange is because there is a major third and then a dim.fifth Which according to the rules of chord building ,the smallest space between notes should be a minor third . Which is not the case between e and g flat
Caug thank you for helping me figure out the friggin chord from Linus and Lucy. I've only been playing it 10 years and not known what it was called. Guaraldi dropped the middle fifth though so it's just C and G# Then Eb major with another missing middle 5th and then yet another Caug but this time in the higher voicing with G# and the next C up and dropping the last 5th.
I've recently ventured into teaching myself how to play the piano, I liked your video but did't understand a thing you showed or spoke about, this is level 100 and I'm still level 1. Keep up the good work much appreciated!
Thanks Clauzane! Have you had a look at my series of tutorials for absolute beginners? You might find them useful. Playlist link here: ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs - shout if you have any questions!
Thank you for your effort to show us the chords, but honestly, it would be much easier to follow if you demonstrated every new example on C first! The fact that you keep introducing new versions of chord on different keys is so confusing that I lost interest to follow! If whoever watching this video is so fluent on the keys or chords, I don't think they need to watch your video!
For me, ive never played piano in my life. Someone gave me a piano for free so im trying to teach myself so I have no idea what his keys are. I have stickers on our piano labeling if they're a b c, so on. 😅
@@Yasimsings6071 hey I'd suggest you start familiarising yourself with the keys by learning major and minor scales first! Then you'd enjoy playing chords and understand this video better
Thank you soooo much for this EPIC tutorial!! Been going through music theory 101 on my own and just got started with chords, it's so helpful to see the chords in practice!
My name is Israel from Tanzania am rly great full for ur rly short tutorial of chords and other stuffs of music it build my skills and got more understanding.
i discovered something while playing, if you play high in the piano, near the black keys, if you have a black key on the inside of each of your two fingers, it's major, if not it's minor. If it's major move your right finger to the left black key to make it minor, if it's major move your right finger to the black key on the right to make it major. You can add the third finger after that it will stay the same for minor/major. So to sum it up, major = wBWBw / minor : wWBw (W for white keys/ B for black keys, w/b when pressed)
Well spotted! That's very true, but it only holds for chords in root position and in keys that are named for white notes. For keys that start on black notes (eg, Bb) the exact reverse is true.
@@BillHilton yeah you are right, i'm only starting piano so i'm learning white first (tonic i believe for first note in the chords), like c major / a minor
As a drummer who is venturing into songwriting this video should be quite helpful as I need to create a lead sheet for one(and hopefully more in the future) of my songs. Thanks and cheers!
Excellent! Finally I reserved time to learn, and found this video! Very didatic, simple, easy. Helped me a lot on creating an simple instructional table!
Very informative, but would been easier to comprehend if you would have stayed with one chord like C, and add all the 6th 7th and 9th and so on. Then the person could transpose it to any other key.
Bill do you have a basic basic for beginners piano book? I love your teaching style but I have no piano basics and need to start from ground zero! Thanks
Sophia Mills I don't at the moment, Sophia, but I'm planning an in-depth series of beginners' tutorials (30 of them, I think) to run throughout 2017. I hope to have the first few lives just before Christmas. Each will come with free downloads of sheet music, learning materials etc. So watch this space!
Sophia... this is a great tutorial.... I've been playing a while too.. there is a video on my channel...(letzrockitrite)... totally free lesson for beginners where you can understand what's going on without having to read music.. it's the one that says you can learn to play in 10 minutes... also another video for all the helpful hints you'll need.... I'm sure Bill won't mind in the interim until he gets his beginner lessons completed... Jon
Why do you...constantly pretend to pause...while typing...as if you are talking...very slowly...it makes for a difficult...and annoying...reading...experience.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I have been struggling to understand the piano for some time and this really has helped me get to understand the basics. Thanks so much.
What type of keyboard is this? The Nord is a very commonly seen keyboard used these days and Nord's are always red in color. I love the sound of the piano on this keyboard. What kind of Nord is this one ?????
It is indeed a Nord! It's a Nord Piano 2, in fact: quite an old model now (I think I got it in 2011). The sound is great, and it's very rugged - which is useful for me. However, it's designed for stage and studio, so it's not an ideal home piano - the keys are quite noisy. If you're looking for something purely for playing at home, check out the Roland FP-30, which plays beautifully (and is also a lot cheaper than anything from Nord!)
Thanks so much for your response Bill about the chords and the chord notation I wasn't able to access this site for a while but thanks so much I appreciate that a lot
+Ollie Chakraverty Ah, thanks for the heads up on that Ollie - I didn't think it allowed that many links, but I'll give it a go. (I want it on a separate web page anyway, for people watching embeds somewhere other than YT)
Thank you I really like this video. I see how the sound of piano comes together. Need lots of practice and review to really make it my own. This is the first time I've learn real piano lesson. I'll stay at it thanks to you...😊
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FIXED TIMESTAMPS:
Intro (Basic Music Theory)
6:01 - Basic Major
6:38 - Basic Minor
7:25 - Dominant seventh (chords ending -7, e.g. G7, Eb7)
8:27 - Minor seventh (chords ending -m7)
9:05 - Major seventh (-maj7)
9:50 - Sixth (-6 or -m6)
11:50 - Ninth (-9) - NB, I don't mention this in the tutorial but the minor ninth (-m9) is the -m7 with an added major third.
12:25 - Major ninth (-maj9)
13:17 - Added ninth (-add9)
14:27 - Suspended fourth (-sus or -sus4)
15:54 - Diminished and diminished seventh (-dim or -°; -dim7 or -°7)
17:44 - Augmented (-aug or -+)
Outro
iAnon legend.
BLESSINGS \ O /
Thanks
thanks alot!
So nice of you to do that man !
I’ve been playing for a while now. Only memorizing keys I remember for a song. I’ve been putting these types of videos off thinking I’d just get confused, but I’m in literal tears from understanding it all now.
Been trying to figure this out for over a year and you taught me everything crystal clearly in just 20 minutes. Fantastic video, thank you Bill!
Glad it helped - you're welcome!
Watching this, I actually are starting to feel like I might be able to hear and understand how to play in the next 20 years.
Hope u improved
Have you improved?
Did u improve?
Hey Bill, I have been looking at a bunch of tutorials on basics, and yours is the best I have seen. I have some experience on the piano, but you can never be too good on the fundementals.
Thanks Frank - I'm glad you like them, and I hope they turn out to be useful for you!
Best tutorial yet for a beginner really appreciate it 🙏🏼
THANK YOU
Glad to have helped!
I just started playing piano, and oh my is this the most helpful tutorial I've came across. Just learning how to form different chords makes it so much easier.
Glad it's useful, Cody - give me a shout if you have any questions or need any help on any of this stuff. If you've just started, you might find my beginners' series useful, too. Playlist here: ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs
i like his pencil
el gringo I have that same pencil! So funny I'm not the only one noticing the pencil! 😂
It's horizontal in this one! :)
Good old staedler
Wha?????????????????????????????????????
thats weird i just thought wow he has the same pencil as me haha
i started playing when i was 7, i only played the white keys, because the black ones sounded weird to me
ARE U racist ?
James Udoko Look at his profile pic
MIXTER I think the same way but with the opposite keys
Go here if you want to learn how to play the piano like a professional: HootPiano. info
If you want to learn how to play piano like a pro then visit this website here: HootPiano.info
I have honestly learnt more from watching half of this video than I have from anything else. Thank you 😊
No problem Dwight - glad to have helped!
A must chord reference. A very nice gift. Thank you Bill!
+MT Mals Thanks!
I cannot express how useful this was.....literally
A job well done.
Thank you so much sir!i have been playing guitar for 14 yrs n always had interest in piano but never tried it until i realized how important it was at composing songs in a studio environment.i was just starting n i stumbled upon your videos.since then never looked back.your lessons have been very helpful.very clear n simplified.very easy to catch up i should say.thank you so much.i thought learning piano would be hard but with teacher like you im finding it easy n fun till now.
Thanks very much, Ray - I hope it continues to work out for you! Give me a shout if you have any questions about any of my stuff :)
Beautifully explained - I wish someone had explained it so simply a long time ago. If it seems complicated/u just cycle back & re-run the video & it should make sense
Thanks Malcolm - I'm really glad you found it useful!
I been a music producer for the last 10 years and you just made things a lot easier for me to understand. Thank you!
No problem Alex - glad it helps!
I have just strated to learn piano and I understood everything about chords in just an hour practising together with this video. Amazing job. I am very grateful
Glad to have helped - let me know if you have any questions!
After playing guitar for years, I'd always tried and failed constantly to learn piano or grasp any music theory, and here you go making it all so simple to understand!!!
Thank you so much for giving a simple, no frills approach! Finally feels like I have a solid point to start practicing chords along to songs!
You crazy G, been playing self taught guitar for years and never actually understood chords just memorized them. Recently trying to play piano and man it’s awesome, you made everything look like a simple equation , just replace the variable and boom ! That major plus minor 3rd just counting the keys is awesome !!!
I couldn’t understand in the beginning why Am looked like a C major. And I got it !!
Well done! Hit me up if you run into any problems/have any questions about any of this.
I've played classical for over 40 years, now trying to learn chords. It's mind-boggling and overwhelming at this point. Your videos have been helpful. I'll keep watching them and practicing. Thank you!
Thanks - glad you find them useful!
Tried to summarize the video, he explains it much better than I do though.
Apologies in advance if I’ve gotten anything wrong.
For the names, the dashes are not included when you’re in practice naming a chord.
The Names of the Major and Minor Chords are simply the names of their root (first) note.
- Major Chord: Major Third + Minor Third
- Minor Chord: Minor Third + Major Third
- Dominant Seventh (ChordName-7): Major Chord + Minor Third
- Minor Seventh (ChordName-m7): Minor Chord + Minor Third
- Major Seventh (ChordName-maj7): Major Chord + Major third
Nice sound!
- Sixth (-6): Major Chord + 6th degree of scale
- Minor Sixth (-6): Minor Chord + 6th degree of scale
Instead of counting from the root of the key, to build them simply take the last note of the major or minor chord and add another whole tone.
The Sixth chords are used often in jazz.
Interesting: F6 is an inversion of Dm7. What name we choose depends on the base note.
- Major Ninth (-maj9): Major Seventh Chord + Minor Third
- Ninth (-9): Dominant Seventh + Major Third
- Minor Ninth (-m9): Minor Seventh + Major Third
- Add Ninth (-add9): Major Chord + 9th note of the Major Chord’s Octave. Now voice the other chords, keeping the added 9th note where it is.
Voicing means adding on another octave the notes of the chord, removing those same notes from the chord. This is done to make the chord sound more dynamic and the notes less clustered.
- Suspended Fourth (-sus4): Major Chord + the note of fourth degree (four steps) from the root of the chord. Voicing and inversions are used here too.
- Diminished (-dim): Minor Third + Minor Third
- Diminished 7th (-dim7): Minor Third + Minor Third + Minor Third
- Augmented (-aug or -^+): Major Chord, but increase Fifth note (last note) by one semitone (one note up)
Often, the name of the chord will give how to build them.
For example, C Seven Flat 5th (C7b5) means take the C7 chord and make the note of fifth degree flat.
You can use common sense to work these things out.
His book is great btw :)
That looks like a pretty good summary to me, Kinan - well done, and thanks. Also thanks for the kind words about the book!
@@BillHilton Thank you for being so helpful :)
I've never seen your video.
I don't know you
But God...I LOVE YOUR VOICE
Eleniss 666 ha
I don't even have a piano but this is great! I can see how it applies to the chords on my guitar and how I can build new chords from them. I could always add fingers on or move them to hear how it affects the voicing, but to know why doing certain things works really well and others don't is great and why the chords are shaped the way they are in the first place!
I'm 38yrs old and I've started piano yesterday. Goodluck to me😭😭😭.. thanks maestro bill
👏👏👏
Hope its going well :D
I have not gotten through the whole video, but the part about different chord voicings at 4:30 is very helpful. I understand basic music theory and I can form most triads, but I didn't know that to make a more full sounding chord, you just added more of the same notes. I tried this on guitar as well and it works. I got confused when trying to take piano to guitar because I could only play triads on piano, but guitar usually had 4-6 notes at once. It's just the same 3 notes repeated at different octaves. I tried this with many of the basic chords on guitar and it worked every time. This blows my mind that it's so simple and I missed. This is very useful in knowing about the structure of chords and making chords more complex and full. I know that there is a lot more to chords than that, but it'll help a whole bunch since I'm teaching myself piano and I'm a beginner. It'll also help with guitar, ukulele or any instrument I learn even though I'm intermediate at guitar and ukulele already. It's still useful because I can figure out certain chords and learn chords a bit easier. Thanks a whole bunch!
I just finished the video. This was a lot better than I expected. I thought that you would just say "this is C, this is Am, this is F, etc" but you actually explained how to form the chords instead. Many tutorials just show how to play specific chords, but not how to form the chords and other chords like it. Some of this, I already knew, but it was a good refresher and there was plenty I didn't know which really helps. The only thing I didn't quite understand was the suspended chords. I know how to play some of them on guitar, but I didn't quite grasp how they were formed in the video. But other than that, it was very clear and understandable. Great video. I'll probably refer to this several times in the future if I forget how to form a certain chord.
+David William A. Thanks very much for the kind words, David - I'm really glad you found it so useful.
The suspended chords thing is tricky, because - as with added ninths, dims and augs - the theory underlying them is fascinating but complex (read: "I studied it all years ago but I'm a bit rusty..."), and I was aware of the risk of opening Pandora's Box and flummoxing people. It's another of those topics I did a tutorial on about four years ago, but which I'm a bit embarrassed about now (poor sound, video quality, etc.) So it's an area I might revisit sometime soon...
+David William A. I remember going through exactly this a year back thanks to Bill
It's the coincidence of music which makes it seem extraordinary. So many ways of describing the same thing - so many avenues and yet when you actually play them they end out feeling incredibly simple
This is great. I've had a burning desire to play piano for years, so I stumbled onto your channel out of a sort of idle curiosity. Your joy in teaching the subject matter is so palpable that I watched the entire thing despite the fact that I've never played. Alas, too late for me....but your tutorials are wonderful!
Thanks Fred - it's very kind of you to say so! I have some background in teaching (English literature rather than music) and have long thought that a prerequisite for good teaching is to have an intense interest in the subject matter. In fact, being intensely interested in it is in some ways more important than a high level of mastery of the skill in question (there are many, many, many people out there who are much better at playing the piano than I). But education is a whole different subject... thanks again!
Best explanation of chords in one place EVER. I've watched this more than once. Thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!
This indeed is epic, name of the video really follows up. I'm only a beginner and in this simple video you showed me so clearly how to read and make chords it's unreal. Thank You, I owe you one.
Glad it was helpful - you're welcome!
Wow, this video filled in a lot of missing pieces in my music theory knowledge. Thanks a lot! I want to learn as much as possible to be able to compose something decent in the future. Although I will not study music for my career, it is one of my greatest passions ❤️
Wonderful - glad it helped!
I have never even touched piano in my life. But the way you explain it almost feels like i will be able to play in no time.
This is.so.cool...thanks for teaching how to get chords...ive just been 2months learning piano and no one teach me,just watching on youtube like this..thanks for sharing this..may the godbless you...
Hello ! I'm an autodidact guitarist, and i'm about to learn piano the same way. I wish someone gave me those basics music theories sooner ! Amazing, thanks a lot mate !
You're welcome, Yanice!
BEST explanatino so far and trust me I've seen them all trying to get a grip of the piano. Thank you! I'll be back for more!
Thank you - glad you liked it!
This is by far the best piano tutorial I’ve ever found on RUclips. Very concise, straight to the point while still explaining the reasoning behind everything, and perfectly informative like it should be. Bravo my friend!
Thanks Matt - really glad you like it!
This is a lot to take in for a beginner -- but I like your teaching style which is very clear and precise. I'll need to take this in small bits and come back after working on it. Thanks!
No problem! Piano has a pretty steep learning curve, but keep plugging away at it and it'll start to come more naturally!
Bill, I am a piano teacher and I wanted to say thanks so much for this helpful video! This is a great resource for indexing chords!
Thanks Lydia! I try to do bits and pieces for people that might help people having formal instruction, as well as self-teachers, so it's good to hear from a pro that I'm getting at least something right!
Watching this video saves you basically time and money you would spend on a teacher. Nicely done , thank you!
Nearly 5 years later and still helping people! Many thanks.
You're very welcome - thanks very much indeed!
Feels like I've finally picked up the missing pieces I've been needing. Thank you.
Glad it helped, Joe!
Thanks for the fantastic summary. I've only recently come back to the piano after a very long recess. This tutorial has allowed me to quickly re-learn things long forgotten. Your descriptions of chord structures make mastering chords much easier and I reference your structural descriptions often. Well Done!
Glad it was helpful, Derric - you're very welcome! Give me a shout if you ever have any questions/problems as you go through the relearning process. It sometimes takes me a little while to reply (I get a lot of questions...) but I'm always happy to help if I can :)
The pencil on top of the piano iis really aesthetically pleasing!
Staedtler pencils are design classics - I have loads of them. There are probably others that write better, but none look the part! :)
By far the best Tutorial on Chords ive seen . thank you @bill Hilton for sharing this knowledge in a very simple manner
Thanks Archer - glad it was useful for you!
trying to learn piano by myself
pray for a sister
kotis same girl
Just prayed for you. Pray for a brotha as well please!
fuck y'all
Koitis
How’s it going so far
Thanks, Bill. I've been learning for 7 years already but my chord knowledge was sketchy at best. This has really helped especially since I'm now having a break from learning classical and playing around with pop and blues.
No problem - delighted to have helped!
This was great! I actually found the part about voicings super helpful. Makes it less scary to move around the whole piano 👍
Glad it helped - let me know if you have any questions on any of this stuff!
Thanks for this. Im self taught using Synthesia and practically know nothing on chords, however through messing with piano for 6 years now, ive Kind of picked up on things like "It doesnt matter how you play the chord, as long as the notes are of said chord" (Voicing or what ever its called :P ) Its very pleasing to know that this is a fact and not just a fumble of playing a bunch. Again thank you for this, i unfortunately havent taken much of the chord knowledge with me But this was invaluable for pattern recognition.
thank you sooo much! The mist is clearing!
Best tutorial. Finally
such a good shortcut to chords on piano love it
Thanks Sean - glad you like it!
I began playing the piano as soon as I could reach the keys (with an age of roundabout 2 Years I guess). Ever refused to learn notes, never stopped composing and playing way over 30 years now - and never knew what I was playing - it just sounded good. Now all makes sense to me and I am encouraged to learn and write notes :D Thanks so much!
No problem at all - you obviously have a ton of natural musicality anyway, but it's good to hear my stuff is helping you! If you haven't seen it already, do take a look at my beginners' series - clearly you're anything but a beginner, but it will take you through the process of learning to read and write score: ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs
I will, thanks a lot!
You have a nice gentle teaching voice. Thanks I learned a lot 🔥
As a guitarist of nearly 15 years who just got a midi keyboard for the 1st time this has helped me immensely. It feels strange that I have more of a grasp on theory from this video alone on the keys that I do on a guitar lmao.
You're welcome! Stuff is often much easier to visualise on a keyboard, I find - when I was a kid, my guitar teacher always used a piano to demonstrate theoretical stuff (maybe because he knew I was having piano lessons, too: even so, it helped!)
Excellent, well presented although I'm going to have to watch it over and over or buy the book. Thank you.
Thanks Tim - glad you liked it. Shout if you have any questions! :)
I can't believe how simple and lucid you explained this without overwhelming me with too much detail. Thank you
No problem - glad it helped!
There is also a strange chord called the Dominant seventh flat five chord. ..( not to be confused with the minor flat five / half diminished )
The C dominant flat five is
c -e-gflat -b flat
Reason why I find it strange is because there is a major third and then a dim.fifth
Which according to the rules of chord building ,the smallest space between notes should be a minor third .
Which is not the case between e and g flat
Caug thank you for helping me figure out the friggin chord from Linus and Lucy. I've only been playing it 10 years and not known what it was called. Guaraldi dropped the middle fifth though so it's just C and G# Then Eb major with another missing middle 5th and then yet another Caug but this time in the higher voicing with G# and the next C up and dropping the last 5th.
me: ah, i can finally learn some chords.
the 30 second unskippable "simply piano" ads: *allow us to introduce ourselves*
I can't say I'm a fan of them either...!
Whenever i have doubts, i refer to your class Hilton Sir. You are my teacher..!! Evergreen video...we can always refer to..
You’re very welcome - I’m really glad you like it!
So if I understand correctly, I have to build a major turd and then stack a minor turd on top of it; what do you recommend in terms of diet?
Muesli. Lots of it.
Heheh. Turd.
Great lesson! My son learn so much from it. Thank you
You're welcome - glad it's helping him!
thanks a lot, this is really useful. i already knew all of these by feel but i never knew exactly how they work
I've recently ventured into teaching myself how to play the piano, I liked your video but did't understand a thing you showed or spoke about, this is level 100 and I'm still level 1. Keep up the good work much appreciated!
Thanks Clauzane! Have you had a look at my series of tutorials for absolute beginners? You might find them useful. Playlist link here: ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs - shout if you have any questions!
@@BillHilton Same here,, nothing. Will check the link.
Thank you for your effort to show us the chords, but honestly, it would be much easier to follow if you demonstrated every new example on C first! The fact that you keep introducing new versions of chord on different keys is so confusing that I lost interest to follow! If whoever watching this video is so fluent on the keys or chords, I don't think they need to watch your video!
felt the same! i got so confused that i had to pause and breakdown every section before moving onto the next one. That'd be much better!
For me, ive never played piano in my life. Someone gave me a piano for free so im trying to teach myself so I have no idea what his keys are. I have stickers on our piano labeling if they're a b c, so on. 😅
@@Yasimsings6071 hey I'd suggest you start familiarising yourself with the keys by learning major and minor scales first! Then you'd enjoy playing chords and understand this video better
@@AkshayLakkundi thank you so much for the advice, I will definitely look up the major and minor scales later on today!
@@Yasimsings6071 haha
Thank you soooo much for this EPIC tutorial!! Been going through music theory 101 on my own and just got started with chords, it's so helpful to see the chords in practice!
You're very welcome!
How's it going now? I'm also trying to understand all this music terminology
Everything makes sense now 🤯
I want to thank you from bottom of my heart, as this was the most clear explanation of chords here on YT. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome - really glad it helped!
Best piano teacher ever!
Thank you, Mr. Hilton for uploading this such impressive piano tutorial video. Cheers from Indonesia 😄
Very very helpful, thank you so much!
My name is Israel from Tanzania am rly great full for ur rly short tutorial of chords and other stuffs of music it build my skills and got more understanding.
You're really welcome, Israel - I'm glad to have been of help!
Love it when he says “Ye?”, really tickles me 😂.
Seriously though this video is awesome, great to have this all summarized in one place, top man.
Ye?
Thanks Rob!
i discovered something while playing, if you play high in the piano, near the black keys, if you have a black key on the inside of each of your two fingers, it's major, if not it's minor. If it's major move your right finger to the left black key to make it minor, if it's major move your right finger to the black key on the right to make it major. You can add the third finger after that it will stay the same for minor/major.
So to sum it up, major = wBWBw / minor : wWBw (W for white keys/ B for black keys, w/b when pressed)
Well spotted! That's very true, but it only holds for chords in root position and in keys that are named for white notes. For keys that start on black notes (eg, Bb) the exact reverse is true.
@@BillHilton yeah you are right, i'm only starting piano so i'm learning white first (tonic i believe for first note in the chords), like c major / a minor
Bb is gorgeous
As a drummer who is venturing into songwriting this video should be quite helpful as I need to create a lead sheet for one(and hopefully more in the future) of my songs. Thanks and cheers!
No problem Michael - good luck with the songwriting!
Thanks very much:)
Thank you! Most definitely an epic tutorial!!!
Excellent!
Finally I reserved time to learn, and found this video!
Very didatic, simple, easy. Helped me a lot on creating an simple instructional table!
Bill, I enjoyed listening to you and I am also impressed with the sound of the Keyboard. Please tell me what is the make and model. Thanks Lloyd
Thanks Lloyd! It's a 2011-model Nord Piano 2.
Thank you so much been practicing keyboard and its really frustrating but thanks to your tutorials it helps me alot step by step with slow pace 👍👍👍
me: *gets music&arts ad*
me: im alREADY RENTING A CLARINET WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT
It's actually cool how I'm starting to learn the theory behind the music. Thanks for the video!
No problem - you're welcome!
This was amazing, thank you so much ❤️❤️
this is life changing! epic ! you see that bunch of chords written in a song book? after this vedio im reading it like a pro. many thanks!
No problem Jack - that's what the tutorial was meant to help with, and it sounds like it's working for you. Have fun!
You taught me everything in 20 minutes instead of 20 years of taking music lessons. Thanks!
Thank you for this, been following the theory but had a really hard time applying it to the piano; this is very helpful!
Very informative, but would been easier to comprehend if you would have stayed with one chord like C, and add all the 6th 7th and 9th and so on. Then the person could transpose it to any other key.
Agreed
AMAZING...I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD HOW TO KNOW WHAT KEYS CREATE A CHORD...ANY CHORD. THANK YOU.
You're welcome!
Bill do you have a basic basic for beginners piano book? I love your teaching style but I have no piano basics and need to start from ground zero! Thanks
Sophia Mills I don't at the moment, Sophia, but I'm planning an in-depth series of beginners' tutorials (30 of them, I think) to run throughout 2017. I hope to have the first few lives just before Christmas. Each will come with free downloads of sheet music, learning materials etc. So watch this space!
Bill Hilton great thanks!
Sophia... this is a great tutorial.... I've been playing a while too.. there is a video on my channel...(letzrockitrite)... totally free lesson for beginners where you can understand what's going on without having to read music.. it's the one that says you can learn to play in 10 minutes... also another video for all the helpful hints you'll need.... I'm sure Bill won't mind in the interim until he gets his beginner lessons completed... Jon
Why do you...constantly pretend to pause...while typing...as if you are talking...very slowly...it makes for a difficult...and annoying...reading...experience.
Apparently lizard you're an english major sorry for not putting an actual period and 2 spaces before continuing chill
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I have been struggling to understand the piano for some time and this really has helped me get to understand the basics. Thanks so much.
No problem, Troy - really glad it helped!
What type of keyboard is this? The Nord is a very commonly seen keyboard used these days and Nord's are always red in color. I love the sound of the piano on this keyboard. What kind of Nord is this one ?????
It is indeed a Nord! It's a Nord Piano 2, in fact: quite an old model now (I think I got it in 2011). The sound is great, and it's very rugged - which is useful for me. However, it's designed for stage and studio, so it's not an ideal home piano - the keys are quite noisy. If you're looking for something purely for playing at home, check out the Roland FP-30, which plays beautifully (and is also a lot cheaper than anything from Nord!)
The BEST youtube chord tutorial so far, thanks you for making this video, you helped a LOT, can't wait for you upcoming videos!
Really helpful, thanks.
If you want to learn how to play piano like a pro then visit this website here: HootPiano.info
This tutorial is amazing. Extremely helpful, thank you very much.
You're really welcome!
5:31 dancing in the moonlight
Loved this! Finally I know what all of them are, never really grasped it (even though I'm playing the piano for 13 years now 🤯).. Thank you very much!
You're welcome, Mo - glad I could help!
I need the lessons before beginners. The neanderthal piano tutorial
Keys go boop boop boop
Thanks so much for your response Bill about the chords and the chord notation I wasn't able to access this site for a while but thanks so much I appreciate that a lot
Hi Bill, I believe you can actually leave time stamps for the video in the description, maybe this would be more useful?
+Ollie Chakraverty Ah, thanks for the heads up on that Ollie - I didn't think it allowed that many links, but I'll give it a go. (I want it on a separate web page anyway, for people watching embeds somewhere other than YT)
+Ollie Chakraverty ..aaaaaand it works. Done. Thanks very much indeed :)
+Bill Hilton No worries, excellent tutorial as always :)
Thank you I really like this video. I see how the sound of piano comes together. Need lots of practice and review to really make it my own. This is the first time I've learn real piano lesson. I'll stay at it thanks to you...😊
No problem at all, Larry!
When u notice he has the same pencil as you and can't stop looking at it lmao
Oh that's just me.... okay
Staedtler - they're the world's finest pencils for the price!