1. The concept and origin of chords.
1. What is a chord?
Chords, popularly explained as accompanying "melody", make the whole music richer, fuller and better-sounding. (The so-called musical sound means: sound without percussion) My cousin’s words about the chords of cell phone ringtones are “lots of sounds, nice to listen to”.
This celestial body has been using this statement when giving lectures to students. As for its formal definition, there is no need to describe it here.
We can understand it this way: when a person sings, he sings a "melody". The piano, band or tape accompanying him can be roughly understood as playing the role of "chords", setting off and enriching the song.
2. Where did the chord come from?
Everyone knows that singing with accompaniment is better than singing without accompaniment. Through long-term music practice, people have concluded which sounds are pleasant to the ears when combined. So it is inherited and carried forward from generation to generation. Music gradually evolved from monophonic to polyphonic, with changes in time, intensity, timbre, etc. The concept of chords gradually formed. As for why the combination of those sounds sounds good, it has to do with the physical properties of the pronunciation body. Please refer to the related knowledge of temperament.
3. Where are the chords recorded on the score? When is it used?
A staff, or simplified notation, may be marked with chords. An introductory book on electronic keyboards must have chord symbols. Chords are written above the score. Which note is facing below it means that the chord is used at the moment of that note. And from this note to the next chord mark, it's the same chord. In this case, duplicate markings are generally not made. However, some books may emphasize the first sound of each measure.
2. Chords on the electronic keyboard.
1. Automatic chords and manual chords.
Automatic chords can be said to be unique to electronic keyboards and one of the three basic elements of electronic keyboards. We can turn on this function on the electronic keyboard, so the area on the left side of the keyboard becomes the automatic chord area. The area for single-fingered chords is generally the 14 black and white keys on the far left. The area for multi-fingered chords is generally the 19 keys on the left (based on a 61-key piano). If it's not consistent, you can try it out yourself. Because the timbre and sound effects are different from the right area of ??the keyboard. On the basis of opening the rhythm, play a chord, and then leave your hand, the piano will continue to produce the sound effect of this chord until the rhythm is stopped or the next chord is played.
One thing to note is that when the rhythm is off, playing chords sounds different than when it is on, and it also sounds different from the melody area on the left. Also, the sound of the chord stops when your hands leave the keyboard.
The reason why the automatic chord area is set on the left is that the melody is usually in the middle and high notes, the chords are usually in the middle and low notes, and the commonly used keyboard instruments are left and right. Automatic chords are played almost exclusively with the left hand.
In automatic chords, changing to another chord only changes the pitch of the note, but does not change the length, intensity, and tone combination of the chord. Therefore, people who are not sensitive to pitch changes may not be able to hear it. I met this flower when I was teaching in 206. It doesn't matter, "Read a book a thousand times, and its meaning will appear by itself." Similarly, "Listen to a string a thousand times, and its sound will self-identify." . This is especially obvious when the wrong chords are used and they conflict with the melody.
In the automatic chord state, if the same chord is used in different measures of the song, you can play the same chord again, or you can not play it again. The effect remains unchanged.
Relative to automatic chords, there are also manual chords. This is a popular name. That means you have to play every note yourself. Automatic chords are not a favor, but to achieve better results and free up the left hand to a certain extent to change timbre, rhythm, speed, use pulleys, add submelody and other tasks.
The musical principles of manual chords and automatic chords are exactly the same.
2. Single-fingered chords and multi-fingered chords.
Introduction: First there are multi-fingered chords, and then there are single-fingered chords. Multi-fingered chords are automatic chords extracted from long-term practice. Single-fingered chords are a further simplification of multi-fingered chords. Single-fingered chords can express fewer types and can be used when getting started. Easy to use.
How are multi-fingered chords “extracted”?
The same kind of chords are ever-changing. For example, the C chord is composed of do, mi, and sol.
Playing these three notes at the same time is the effect of a C chord. Playing them one by one in six different orders or playing any two first and then one is also a C chord. Any one or several pitches appearing an octave higher or lower, or repeated two octaves, are also C chords. Each of the three instruments plays one of these three notes, which together are also a C chord.
In the automatic accompaniment of electronic keyboards, too much refinement is of no practical significance. It is enough to reproduce its total effect. So we simply put them into the same category, and used the simplest "play adjacent do, mi, sol in the chord area at the same time" to represent various C chords. So it is a high degree of generalization and abstraction. It cannot reproduce every note of a band's original performance with 100% accuracy. But it has exactly that effect on a macro level.
Multi-fingered chords require playing three or four notes at the same time, and then the piano recognizes and sounds them. One-finger chords usually only require one or two notes to produce the same effect. However, there are only 4 categories and 48 types of single-fingered chords, which is about one-tenth of the types of multi-fingered chords. Therefore, to learn intermediate and advanced levels, you need to transition to multi-fingered chords. However, beginners often fail to remember and operate so many chord changes, so many people use it when they first learn. In the current amateur examination syllabus, single-finger chords can be used in the first level examination.
In addition, some pianos now have "smart chords" that automatically identify whether the player is playing with one finger or multiple fingers. Some Casio pianos have "full keyboard chords", which means that when you play chords in the chord area, you have both the chord sound and the bass sound of the main tone.
3. Commonly used chords
1. The three most commonly used chords.
First, let’s add some additional knowledge: rising and falling numbers. The sharp sign is written as #, written on the left side of the note, which means that the note is played to the key next to it on the right side. When you first learn, it is almost all raised to the black key. For example, #do plays the black key between do and re. The flat sign Ь is the opposite. This flat sign is not standard, so it can only be replaced with the Russian soft accent first. The actual half circle of the flat should be thinner than this and the lower end should be pointed.
The three most commonly used types of chords are major triads, minor triads and dominant seventh chords. We can distinguish them from the way they are written.
(1), major triad. A capital letter, or a capital letter with a sharp or flat sign. There are no other marks.
Twelve major triads:
2007-3-12 14:16:49 Upload and download attachment (19.81 KB)
Use The equal sign means that the chord has two names.
(2), minor triad. An uppercase letter, or an uppercase letter with a sharp or flat sign, followed by a lowercase m.
2007-3-12 14:25:05 Upload Download Attachment (22.01 KB)
(3), dominant seventh chord. A capital letter, or a capital letter with a sharp or flat sign, followed by a lowercase 7.
Twelve dominant seventh chords:
2007-3-12 14:33:43 Upload and download attachment (22.02 KB)
2 , single finger chord playing method.
Here you need to know the basics: note names and roll calls. To put it simply, do is also called C, re is also called D, mi is also called E, fa is also called F, sol is also called G, la is also called A, and si is also called B. Also know the names of whole steps, semitones and black keys. Please refer to other posts for details, I will link to them in two days.
Note: The letter C may refer to the sound C, which is the sound do, or it may refer to the C chord in the major triad, or it may refer to the key of C major. In music theory it has at least three meanings.
(1). Single-finger playing method of major triad:
The single-finger playing method of major triad only uses one key. For the C chord, play the C note, which is do. For the #C chord, play the note #C. For D chords, play the D note, and so on.
(2) How to play minor triad with one finger:
The minor triad is played with two tones together. Generally, you can use your index finger and middle finger to play at the same time. Casio pianos are different from other pianos.
a. Let’s talk about the ordinary piano first: first find the key facing the capital letter. For example, Cm, first find C, and then play the black key next to it to the left of C.
The leftmost C doesn't have a key farther left, so Cm has to move one octave to the right. (Two adjacent notes with the same name are "octave" apart). That is, the second do from the left and the Ьsi to the left of it.
Another example is the Fm chord. Find the note F (that is, fa), and play it at the same time as the black key (Ьmi) to the left of mi. Another example is ЬBm, which plays the sound of ЬB (Ьsi) and the two sounds Ьla.
b. The Casio piano is like this: replace the black keys of the ordinary piano with the white keys to the right of the letters. For example, Cm, first find C and then find the white key to the right of C, that is, re, do and re. Just play it together. The Fm chord is the F note (that is, fa) and the two notes sol to the right of fa played together. ЬBm is the sound that plays ЬB (Ьsi) and the si to the right of it.
(3) Single-finger playing method for dominant seventh chords:
On ordinary pianos, dominant seventh chords are played with two tones together. You can use your index and middle fingers. The Casio piano is different from other pianos in that it requires three notes.
a. Ordinary piano: Find the key facing the capital letter, and then play the white key next to it on the left at the same time. For example, C7 plays the second C from the left in the keyboard area (do) and the si to the left of do. F7 plays F (fa) and mi. ЬB7 plays the sound ЬB (Ьsi) and la.
b. For khaqin, first find the note corresponding to the capital letter, and then play the two white keys to the right of it. For example, C7 plays the three notes do, re, and mi together (so troublesome), and F7 plays fa, sol, and la together. ЬB7 plays Ьsi, si and do.
3. Multi-finger chord playing method.
Fingered chords are the same on all instruments. Major and minor chords are played in three keys at the same time. Dominant seventh chords are played on four keys at the same time.
Supplementary knowledge 1: Semitone. The distance between two adjacent tones is 1 semitone, such as from mi to fa. The distance between two tones that are separated by one tone is 2 semitones, such as from do to re. And so on. From #fa to #la it is 4 semitones. Count by yourself, isn’t that the right thing to do?
Supplementary knowledge 2: Root sound. The note corresponding to the capital letter of a chord is called the root note of the chord. The root note of the C chord is the C note, which is do. The root note of the G7 chord is G, which is sol.
(1) Multi-finger playing method for major triads:
First find the root note, then go up, that is, to the right, and count 4 semitones. This is the second sound. Counting 3 semitones up, that's the third note. These three notes played together form a major triad.
For example, for the C chord, find do first, count 4 semitones to be mi, and then count 3 semitones to be sol. The C chord consists of three notes: do, mi, and sol played together.
The A chord is composed of three tones: la, #do, and mi. Note that when speaking many sounds at the same time, always speak from low to high. The #do here is the #do to the right of the leftmost la. The F chord is fa, la, do. You must count by yourself, otherwise you won’t be able to learn.
The formula of the major triad is: "root four three".
(2) Multi-finger playing method for minor triad and dominant seventh chord:
The formula of minor triad is "root three and four". Try counting
Am: la, do, mi
Dm: re, fa, la
Cm: do, Ьmi, sol
Are you right?
The formula for the dominant seventh chord is "root four three three". Try counting
G7: sol, si, re, fa
D7: re, #fa, la, do
#F7: #fa, #la, #do, mi
The three types of chords, major 3, minor 3, and dominant 7, account for more than 95% of beginners’ use. So just talk about three categories first. Students who are interested and in need can continue to read relevant materials.
With these three formulas, you can calculate the multi-fingered playing methods for all 36 chords in the three categories.
Whether I teach in No. 206 Middle School or Heping Street No. 1 Middle School, I will tell my students: chords are not memorized, but calculated. It is important to remember the formula. Let us consolidate the three formulas:
Major triad: root four three.
Minor triad, root three and four.
Dominant seventh chord: root four three three.
4. Changes and progressions of chords
1. Omission of multi-fingered chords.
The major and minor chords are not omitted. Dominant seventh chords can omit one note.
After calculating according to the formula, the third sound can be omitted. For example, sol, si, (re), and fa in the G7 chord can be omitted.
The re, #fa, (la), and la in the D7 chord can be omitted.
In the multi-fingered automatic chord mode of the piano, the piano can recognize it whether you omit the note or not, and the effect is the same. Manual chords also often omit this note. The effect change is not obvious.
2. Inversion of chords:
In the multi-fingered chord area, any note of a chord can be played an octave higher (the adjacent note with the same name , such as from do to another do), as long as it does not go out of bounds. For example, on the C chord, you can play do, mi, sol (circles in the picture), you can also play mi, sol, do (squares), and you can also play sol, do, mi (small crosses). Not even out of the chord area.
This is called a transposed chord. In the automatic chord area, no matter how you turn it, as long as it is these few notes, the effect will be exactly the same (some high-end pianos are slightly different between turning and not turning). If it doesn't rotate, it's called a home position chord. This is basic common sense. I found that there are many students in many places who know that sol, do, and mi are C chords, but do not know what do, mi, and sol are. This is not good, you have to know where you are no matter what, right? Anyway, I will talk about the original position first, and then I will talk about the transposition after using it several times.
Transposition is for convenience during connection. For example, if the C chord is followed by Am, if it is do, mi, sol followed by la, do, mi, it will jump back and forth. But if do, mi, sol are followed by do, mi, la after transposition, you only need to spread your thumb a little.
One thing to note: transposition does not change the root note. No matter how you arrange the C chord, the root note is do. When studying the omission and inversion of dominant seventh chords, omit them first and then invert them to avoid omitting the wrong note.
*3. The progression of chords in the mode.
This section is difficult. You need to be able to calculate various major and minor keys. Otherwise I don’t understand. Moreover, the key cannot be explained clearly in one or two sentences, so I will take the simplest key of C major as an example here. For beginners, it doesn’t need to be that deep.
In the major and minor system, a key has I chords (Roman numeral "1"), II, III, IV, V, VI, VII chords (1234567...). For example, in the key of C major, all chords with the capital letter C: C, Cm, C7 are first degree chords; all the chords starting with D are second degree chords, and all the chords starting with E are third degree chords... As for the chords starting with #C What level is it? It is not a basic tone level and is not discussed in this article.
Among them, the I (1) major triad, IV (4) major triad, and V (5) dominant seventh chord in any major key are the most important. Specifically, in the key of C major, there are three chords: C, F, and G7. They serve as reinforcement and skeleton in the key of C major. Other chords are based on these three chords to create richer sound effects.
In the key of C major, the C major triad of the first degree, the F major triad of the fourth degree, and the dominant seventh chord G7 of the fifth degree are most commonly used. It can reach more than 70~80% when starting to learn. Thanks to what I have learned from Teacher Lu, these three chords can account for more than 30% to 40% of the music in C major. ("Only" 30%? That's quite a lot. Don't forget that there are more than 400 chords in a guitar! These three account for 30%).
For the I, IV, and V chords of other major keys, you must first know the notes of the major key, so we won’t go into too much detail.
For minor keys, for example, the three most commonly used chords in a minor are Am, Dm, and E7, which are the I minor triad, IV minor triad, and V dominant seventh chord of a minor respectively. Look, there are still these three levels (readers have already started...)
I-level chords are also called tonic chords, IV-level chords are also called subordinate chords, and V-level chords are also called dominant chords.
I will now simply write down the three most commonly used chords in the three easiest major keys and the three minor keys.
Whoever wants to continue learning, I will give him a link to the full version. From this, you can also determine what key a piece of music is in (one *** 12 pairs of major and minor keys). If a piece of music has a large number of Am, Dm, and E7, then it can basically be considered to be in the key of A minor.
*5. Begin to make easy chords.
When you learn piano to an advanced level, you should be able to write out the chords of ordinary songs based on the melody. Rather than playing what is written on the score. This is called matching chords. This is not an easy task for someone who has not been learning piano for a long time. This chapter only talks about the simplest chords. I summed up this routine. You can use this routine to compose the simplest chords.
1. Some important rules:
This girl has thought of a few general rules for reference. This is just a very simplified approach. The truth is much more complicated than mine. And when it comes to advanced songs, I might even get into a fight with these ones. This is all possible. So there is no absolute one-size-fits-all formula. It can only be "compliance with these rules to the greatest extent". Some friends say that it is unruly? No, the general framework is here, and the richer changes are in the practice process. If you follow the procedures completely, that is natural science, not humanities. The charm of music lies precisely in this ever-changing nature.
(1) First think about I chords, IV chords and V chords. And 70% to 80% of the beginning and end of a certain key are first-degree chords. For example, in the key of C major, priority is given to the three chords C, F, and G7. And the C chord is often used at the end of the switch.
(2) Chords are generally one for each measure, or one for several measures, with the middle remaining unchanged. If there are two chords in a bar, it is dense. But you can't have a chord for every note throughout the whole story. So when arranging chords, consider changing by measure first.
(3) See if there are any of these sounds in the melody. For example, in the key of C major, if a measure is "do mi sol do". Then these notes are all in the C chord. Don't hesitate at this time, just add the C chord. If there are fa and la in the melody of this bar, think of the F chord.
(4) Look at the dominant sound and the sound on the downbeat. For example, the musical notation of Doll and Bear Dancing in C major is in 4/4 time
"1 2 3 4 | 5 5 54 3 |..."
In the first measure, the emphasis is The beat is on 1, and the second strong beat is on 3. So there are 1 and 3, according to the third clause, with a C chord. In the second measure, only one and a half beats of 4 is a note outside the C chord, so it is mainly a note in the C chord, so it is matched with the C chord. So this is also a role of learning multi-fingered chords. If you don’t know what a chord is, you won’t be able to play it.
(5) Some routines, taking C major as an example: C→G7, G7→C, C→F, F→C, F→G7, C→F→F→C, C→ G7→G7→C (G7 occupies two measures), C→F→G7→C, C→F→C→G7→C. If it’s an eight-bar piece, it’s probably G7 by the fourth bar, but it could also be C. Use the G7→F chord with caution.
(6) After finishing the configuration, listen to it to see if it sounds good, and then do some debugging.
2. Practical exercises:
The following is a simplified score of "Ode to Joy" in C major:
3 3 4 5 ｜ 5 4 3 2 ｜ 1 1 2 3 ｜ 3 2 2－ ｜
3 3 4 5 ｜ 5 4 3 2 ｜ 1 1 2 3 ｜ 2 1 1－ ||
一***八 section. Try C, G7 and F first. First, according to the first paragraph of the previous paragraph, write C in subsection 1.
Section 1 is mainly 3 and 5, so use C. The third section is mainly 1 and 3, so it is also C. There are three notes in the second measure, 542, which are all notes in G7, so they are assigned to G7. The last note in the first line is 2, which is not very comfortable to play with the C chord. According to Article 6, try using G7. Well, not bad. Then I saw that the first three bars of the second line were the same. So the same goes for chords. In the last section, it seems that it is not good to match C or G7. Let’s do it this way: use G7 for the first two beats and C for the last two beats. Well, that sounds pretty good.
This song does not use the F chord. This is the easiest.
Here comes another "Little Star" shot in 2/4.
1 1 | 5 5 | 6 6 | 5 – | 4 4 | 3 3 | 2 2 | 1 – |
5 5 | 4 4 | 3 3 | 2 – | 5 5 | 4 4 | 3 3 | 2 – |
1 1 | 5 5 | 6 6 | 5 – | 4 4 | 3 3 | 2 2 | 1 – ||
1*** 24 measures, of which 1-8 are the same as 17-24. And 9-12th and 13-16th are the same. According to Article 1. The first section is C. The note in the second measure is in both C and G7. The note in the third measure is in F. So use F. Because the fifth paragraph in the previous paragraph says to use G7 to F with caution (it is simply forbidden in classical music). Then the second measure has to be C. Bar 4 might be in C or G7. Bar five could be F or G7. Let's leave four or five measures alone. Looking at measures six to eight, it must be C, G7, C. From the fifth item in the above paragraph, there is a F→C→G7→C. Then try F in the fifth measure. Correspondingly, the fourth measure cannot be G7. From the ninth to the thirteenth section, put the above one C→F→C→G7. It will be repeated later. Give it a try. The first twelve bars of this piece are C, C, F, C, F, C, G7, C, C, F, C, G7….