BY JACQUES HOPKINS An eBook of the first 8 days of Visit
Transcription
BY JACQUES HOPKINS An eBook of the first 8 days of Visit
First 8 Da ys eBook psst… there’s a video lesson if you make it to page 54 BY JACQUES HOPKINS An eBook of the first 8 days of Jacques's Piano in 21 Day Course. Visit PianoIn21Days.com for more information. This eBook contains the first 8 days of my 21 day video course. For more information about the video course and other updates, visit PianoIn21Days.com. The contents of this eBook are the property of Jacques Hopkins. No part of this eBook shall be reproduced, transmitted, or sold in whole or in part in any form, without the prior written consent of the author. Days First 8 eBook Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................... 4 Day 1: White Keys .................................................. 8 Day 2: Black Keys ................................................... 15 Day 3: Half & Whole Steps ................................... 23 Day 4: Major Chords - C, F, & G ............................ 28 Day 5: Major Chords - D, E, A, & B ....................... 36 Day 6: Minor Chords ............................................... 41 Day 7: Left Hand ...................................................... 49 Day 8: Learn 36 Songs in a Few Minutes ....... 52 Days First 8 eBook Page 3 Introduction I hated piano lessons growing up. I blame sheet music. Welcome all to the Piano in 21 Days course. The main course is a video set which can be purchased at PianoIn21Days.com. What you are reading is the eBook version is the first 8 days of the course, where I will take you from absolute beginner to being able to play 36 pop and rock songs in just 8 days. I am Jacques Hopkins, your host on this journey to piano competency. Let me start by telling you about some of my frustrations with playing the piano. I took piano lessons growing up like many kids do. I hated piano lessons growing up like many kids do. One of the main reasons is because I'm just not very good at reading sheet music. Days First 8 eBook Page 4 Introduction Sheet music is great for some people. But banging out songs after hours and hours and days and days with sheet music is simply not enjoyable for me. I knew there had to be a better way. Once you learn my method, you will be learning songs in 5 minutes, not 5 weeks. Another way some people learn is by ear. They hear a tune and then can "pick it up". Not my style either. It just doesn't work for me. The method I lay out in the pages to follow is the only way I play today and the way I have been playing for the past 10 years. This method has enabled me to play in several bands, rack up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and provide me with an overall pleasurable experience every time I sit down at the piano. Once you learn my method, you will be learning songs in 5 minutes, not 5 weeks. Days First 8 eBook Page 5 Introduction I am going to teach you to fish. As the saying goes, I'm going to teach you to fish rather than simply give you a fish. What's different about my course versus virtually any other piano learning method out there is my course teaches you how to learn for yourself. I'm not going to simply teach you certain songs, but am going to teach you how to learn the techniques to enable you to learn just about any song in just a few minutes. A quick note about practice before we begin with the first lesson. I've done the very best I can to help you by putting this course together. Now it's up to you to follow through. Each day, I provide you with a lesson and one or more guided practice sessions. To get the most out of this course, you should spend as much time as it takes on your own master that day's lesson. Days First 8 eBook Page 6 Introduction This practice can get boring at times, but I promise it will be worth it. Once you learn the fundamentals of my method, practice will be a delight. In just 8 days, you will be playing a basic version of songs like "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey, "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5, or "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. After the full 21 day course, you will have learned the more advanced techniques to able to play the songs like I do in my videos. I wish you the best of luck in this journey. Enjoy. Days First 8 eBook Page 7 Day 1: White Keys We are going to start right from the beginning. If you're a beginner, you're in the perfect place. If you have some experience, you can continue through the pages to find the right place to pick up, or you may want to just stick here for a review. Here we go. This is what all the keys on a piano look like: 88 keys. 52 white keys. 36 black keys. You may have a keyboard that has less than 88 keys, that's okay. You probably have the important ones. Days First 8 eBook Page 8 Day 1: White Keys If you are new to piano, don't get overwhelmed already. Today we are going to focus on just the white keys. Music is broken into 7 letter notes. You may have heard of a song "being in the key of C" or someone playing a "G" or an "A". Those are musical notes and there are 7 and only 7 of them. We are going to start with "C" since it is so easy to recognize on the piano. C is the key just to the left of the 2 black keys that are together. See if you can find all of them. Notice how 2 black keys are grouped together and 3 black keys are grouped together. Where you have the 2 black keys together, just to the left is the "C" key. Days First 8 eBook Page 9 Day 1: White Keys The same pattern of 12 keys (7 white, 5 black) repeats itself over and over again on the piano. For now, pick a section of these 12 keys and stick with them for the next several days (pick something in the middle). So, again, we'll start with the "C" key. Let's work our way from the there to the right. The next white key is "D". Notice the "D" key is right between the group of 2 black keys. Then we have the "E" key, to the right of the 2 black keys. Then the "F" key to the left of the group of 3 black keys. Then "G" is next. What's after "G"? The alphabet starts over after "G" in music. The "A" key is after "G". Finally, the "B" key is just to the right of the group of 3 black keys. If we were to go one more key to the right, we would be back to another "C" key. Days First 8 eBook Page 10 Day 1: White Keys Now that we have gotten acquainted with the 7 white key notes, we can begin playing them. We are going to go ahead and jump into our first Practice Session of today. Practice Session 1: Play a white key and name that key. Refer to the image on the left as needed. Use any finger(s) you want at this point. Continue until you feel comfortable. Days First 8 eBook Page 11 Day 1: White Keys Practice Session 2: Print out the next page and cut along the dotted lines to make flash cards. Put the flash cards in a stack and shuffle. Go through flash cards one at a time and play the note you see. For example, if you see the "E" flash card, look at your piano and play "E". Then, move on to another flash card. Continue with exercise until comfortable. You will need to print the next page for use in Practice Session 2 Days First 8 eBook Page 12 Day 1: White Keys CDEF GAB Days First 8 eBook Page 13 Day 1: White Keys That's it for today. Make sure you don't move on to Day 2 until you are comfortable with everything in Day 1. Tomorrow in Day 2's lesson, we'll begin with the black keys. "Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it." - Tom Lehrer Days First 8 eBook Page 14 Day 2: Black Keys "The piano ain't got no wrong notes." - Thelonious Monk Welcome to the 2nd day of the Piano in 21 Days course. Today we are going to learn about the black keys on the piano. Yesterday we learned the white keys and at this point I should be able to play any white key and you should be able to name the letter note corresponding to that key. I should also be able to say a letter and have you play the correct key. If you are having trouble with either, make sure you review yesterday's lesson before proceeding with today's. Hopefully you are ready, though. If so, let's press forward with the black keys. Days First 8 eBook Page 15 Day 2: Black Keys You may have heard of "flats" and "sharps" in music. These are the black keys. A flat is the black key just to the left of a white key. A sharp is the black key just to the right of a white key. A good way to remember it is if you think about the words "flat" and "left", they both contain the letters "f", "l", and "t", so they are very similar word. Flat think left. Sharp think right. Also note the symbols for flats and sharps. The symbol for flat is ♭. The symbol for sharp is ♯. From yesterday, you know where the "D" key is, for example. If you play the black note just to the left of "D", that is the "D♭". If I play the black note just to the right of D, we have the "D♯". Now, here is where it can get tricky. D♯ has another name. Do you know what it is? That's right, E♭. The black key between D and E is both D♯ and E♭. Days First 8 eBook Page 16 Day 2: Black Keys For every 7 white keys, there are only 5 black keys. Let's look at the 5 black keys as flats and then as sharps. Make sure to refer to the image to the left. Days First 8 eBook Sharps: Flats: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ D♭ E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ Page 17 Day 2: Black Keys That's really it for the main idea for today. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We're now going to do a couple of practice sessions involving the black keys. Practice Session 1: Play a black key and give both names for that key. Refer to the image on the left as needed. Use any finger(s) you want at this point. Continue until you feel comfortable. Days First 8 eBook Page 18 Day 2: Black Keys Practice Session 2: You will need to print the next 2 pages for use in Practice Session 2 Practice Session 3: Days First 8 eBook Print out the next 2 pages and cut along the dotted lines to make flash cards. Put the flash cards in a stack and shuffle. Go through flash cards one at a time and play the note you see. For example, if you see the "E♭" flash card, look at your piano and play "E♭". Then, move on to another flash card. Continue with exercise until comfortable. Mix together flash cards from Day 1 and Day 2 and repeat Practice Session 2. Page 19 Day 2: Black Keys C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ D♭E♭ G♭ Days First 8 eBook Page 20 Day 2: Black Keys A♭ B♭ Days First 8 eBook Page 21 Day 2: Black Keys After Day 2, you should feel very comfortable with every individual key on the piano. Continue practicing on your own with the flash cards as necessary. We'll begin playing sequences of notes tomorrow. “If, while at the piano, you attempt to form little melodies, that is very well; but if they come into your mind of themselves, when you are not practising, you may be still more pleased; for the internal organ of music is then roused in you. The fingers must do what the head desires; not the contrary.” - Robert Schumann” Days First 8 eBook Page 22 Day 3: Half & Whole Steps Welcome to Day 3. If you came into this as a complete beginner, you should be feeling pretty good about yourself. you now know every key on the piano in only 2 days. Today, we are going to get into playing two consecutive notes. If you play a note on the piano, then play the absolute very next note in either direction, you have just gone a half step. For example, play a D and then a D♯. You have just gone up a half step. Now play D and then D♭. You have just gone down a half step. Days First 8 eBook Page 23 Day 3: Half & Whole Steps Get it? Try playing some of these half steps on your own: · E to E♭ is a half step down · G to G♯ is a half step up · B to B♭ is a half step down · F to F♯ is a half step up · C to C♯ is a half step up · A to A♭ is a half step down Now, here are some tricky ones. I mentioned it's a half step if it's the absolute next key. So, what is a half step up from E? That's right, F. And a half step down from F is E. The same thing applies to B and C. Now, what do you get when you put two half steps together? Right, a whole step. 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 whole. Days First 8 eBook Page 24 Day 3: Half & Whole Steps A whole step up from C is D. A whole step up from G is F. A whole step up from D is F♯. Let's try some: Practice Session 1: · Play D and then a whole step up from D (E) · Play A and then a whole step down from A (G) · Play C♯ and then a whole step up from C♯ (D♯) · Play F and then a whole step down from F (D♯) · Play E and then a whole step up from E (F♯) Great. Mastering half and whole steps is really going to help us on our way to learning chords (notes played at the same time). Let's continue with another practice session. Practice Session 2: Use all of your flash cards from Day 1 and Day 2. When you see a flash card, play that key, and then one half step up from that key. For example, if you see the C flash card, play C and then C♯. Days First 8 eBook Page 25 Day 3: Half & Whole Steps Practice Session 3: Repeat Practice Session 2 but going a half step down instead of up. Practice Session 4: Repeat Practice Session 2 but go up a whole step. Practice Session 5: Repeat Practice Session 3 but go down a whole step. Days First 8 eBook Page 26 Day 3: Half & Whole Steps Great work. Remember to practice as much as you feel necessary. The journey of a thousand miles starts with just a single step. Remember, the journey of a thousand miles starts with just a single step. It may seem like a while to day 8 or day 21, but believe me you have taken many steps and will be playing real songs before you know it. Tomorrow we will get started with actual chords. I'm really looking forward to it and hope you are too. Days First 8 eBook Page 27 Day 4 - Major Chords C, F, & G A chord is basically just a set of notes played at the same time. Days First 8 eBook Day 4 is upon us and this is where things start to get very interesting! Today we are going to begin playing multiple notes at the same time, known as chords. It won't be long before we can put a few chords together and start playing songs. Let's jump right in. As I mentioned, a chord is basically just a set of notes played at the same time. Chords come in a variety of flavors, but the two main ones (and you've probably heard of these) are major and minor chords. We are going to spend two days focusing on the 7 main major chords. We will spend the day after that focusing on the 7 main minor chords. Page 28 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G Just so you know, major chords are the ones that have a nice bright and cheery sound to them. Minor chords are a darker, sadder sound. You will see what I mean in a bit. Major chords are bright and cheery. Minor chords have a darker and sadder sound. Days First 8 eBook For now, we are going to focus on the major chords, and specifically right now, a C major chord. Now, all major chords have exactly the same struction. That's right, once you learn one major chord, you know them all. And you thought you had to spend years learning piano! Here is all you have to remember for major chords: 4-3. That's it. Here is what I mean: Right now we want to play a C major chord. Put your right thumb on C. From there, we'll count up 4 half steps (the first number of 4-3) and end up on E. Now, do the same thing from E and go 3 half steps. That puts you on a G. Put your thumb on C, your middle finger on E and your pinky finger on G. Page 29 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G Press all three keys at the same time and we have a C major chord. C Major Chord You see how we built the chord? Again, to build a C major chord, we started at the C key, went up 4 half steps, and then 3 half steps. Practice Session 1: Days First 8 eBook Play the C major chord (C-E-G) several times with your right hand until it feels somewhat natural. Next, I want you to play every C major chord you can find on your piano or keyboard. Play it over and over again until you feel comfortable. Page 30 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G Once finished with Practice Session 1, you should be an expert on C major! Let's try a couple more chords now. F major is going to be next. We are going to build the F major chord the same way we did for C. Start at the F key, go up 4 half steps, and then 3 half steps (remember 4-3). You should have F-A-C. Use the same finger structure as you did for the C major chord (thumb on F, middle finger on A, pinky on C). F Major Chord Days First 8 eBook Page 31 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G Practice Session 2: Play all the F major chords on your piano or keyboard. Practice Session 3: Build a G major chord the same way you built the C major chord and F major chord. The answer to what a G major chord looks like is on the next page. Really try to figure it out on your own before turning the page. Practice Session 4: Play all the G major chords on your piano or keyboard. Practice Session 5: Grab only the "C", "F", & "G" flash cards from Day 1. Go through them over and over again playing the major chord as it come up. Days First 8 eBook Page 32 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G G Major Chord You have now learned 3 chords: C, F, & G major. Just so you know, it is no coincidence we are starting with these 3 as they are the only 3 major chords using only white keys. Let's try 1 more Practice Session. Days First 8 eBook Page 33 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G Practice Session 6: Days First 8 eBook Play the following chords in order (play each one 4 times before moving to the next one): · C major · C major · G major · C major · F major · C major · F major · C major · G major · G major · C major · C major · G major · C major Page 34 Day 4 - Major Chords - C, F, & G Want to hear some great news? You just played a song! It's not Billy Joel, but it is a song. Ever heard of Silent Night? Go back and play Practice Session 6 again and see if you can hear the tune. Great work today. We'll add some more major chords tomorrow. Days First 8 eBook Page 35 Day 5 - Major Chords D, E, A, & B Welcome back. I'm glad you've stuck with me to this point. Yesterday we learned the first chords and even a basic song. Today, we are going to add some more chords. Remember the key to major chords we talked about yesterday? That's right, 4-3. Don't forget that, it's very important. As a quick review, go ahead and play a C major chord, then an F major chord, then a G major chord. Great. Today, we are going to add D, E, A, & B major chords. Days First 8 eBook Page 36 Day 5 - Major Chords - D, E, A, & B Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. We'll start with D major for today. Now, you may remember from yesterday that we already hit the only major chords that only have white keys. So, from here on out with major chords, there will be one or more black keys involved. Don’t get scared. Think of it as an adventure. Remember, life begins at the end of your comfort zone. So, begin at the D key. Go up 4 half steps. You will find our black key - F♯. Then go 3 half steps to A. We have D-F♯-A. D Major Chord Days First 8 eBook Page 37 Day 5 - Major Chords - D, E, A, & B Practice Session 1: Play all the D major chords on your piano or keyboard. Practice Session 2: Build an E major chord. Play all the E major chords on your piano or keyboard. Practice Session 3: Build an A major chord. Play all the A major chords on your piano or keyboard. Practice Session 4: Build an B major chord. Play all the B major chords on your piano or keyboard. The answer to what an E, an A, and a B major chord looks like is on the next page. Days First 8 eBook Page 38 Day 5 - Major Chords - D, E, A, & B E Major Chord A Major Chord B Major Chord Days First 8 eBook Page 39 Day 5 - Major Chords - D, E, A, & B Practice Session 5: Grab all 7 flash cards from Day 1. Go through them as you did on Day 1, except now we are going to play major chords rather than individual notes. That's it for Day 5. Make sure you are very comfortable with all 7 major chords we have learned so far before moving on to Day 6. Days First 8 eBook Page 40 Day 6 - Minor Chords Once you learn the method, you will able to pick up songs in a matter of minutes. Days First 8 eBook Welcome to Day 6. I want to remind you that I can't stress practicing enough. You should be following the lessons and practice sessions, but also not moving on to the next thing until feeling comfortable to that point. Believe me, it's going to be worth it. Let me let you in on a little secret. The practice you are doing right now is the most boring, tedious, and lame practice you will ever do if you stick with my method. Once you learn the method, you will be able to pick up songs in a matter of minutes and practice will be a blast because you will actually be playing the song. Page 41 Day 6 - Minor Chords I hope that gives you a little motivation to keep going. "An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching." - Mahatma Ghandi The past 2 days we focused on 7 major chords. Today, we are going to focus on 7 minor chords. If you remember from Day 4, I mentioned that major chords are the ones that sounds happy and cheery. Minor chords sound a little less happy and a little darker. That's the best way to tell them apart. I have mentioned several times now the key to forming a major chord is to remember 4-3. Well, every minor chord is just the opposite: 3-4. Let's start with C. A C major chord is C-E-G. We built it by starting at C, going up 4 half steps to E, and then 3 half steps to G. Let's reverse the build to get a minor chord. Start at C, go up 3 half steps to E♭, then go 4 half steps from there to G. So that's C-E♭-G. Days First 8 eBook Page 42 Day 6 - Minor Chords 4+3=7 3+4=7 (feel free to check my math) You'll notice the top and bottom notes are the same between the major and minor chord. That's because 4 + 3 = 7 and 3 + 4 = 7. The top and bottom note will always be the same between the major and minor chord. The only difference between a major and minor chord is you drop the middle note one half step. Play C major and then C minor and see if you can tell the difference in the sounds. Remember, major chords sound happier and cheerier than do minor chords. C Minor Chord Days First 8 eBook Page 43 Day 6 - Minor Chords Practice Session 1: Since you are now an expert at building chords, I am going to let you build the following yourself: · D minor · E minor · F minor · G minor · A minor · B minor The answers are on the following pages if you need help. Days First 8 eBook Page 44 Day 6 - Minor Chords Days First 8 eBook D Minor Chord G Minor Chord E Minor Chord A Minor Chord F Minor Chord B Minor Chord Page 45 Day 6 - Minor Chords Practice Session 2: Days First 8 eBook Print out the 14 flash cards on the following page. Shuffle the cards and go through them, playing the chord as it appears. Continue until proficient. Page 46 Day 6 - Minor Chords C D E F G C D A B E F G A B major major major major minor minor Days First 8 eBook major minor major major minor minor minor minor Page 47 Day 6 - Minor Chords A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence. - Unknown Days First 8 eBook Awesome job today. Ready to add in the left hand? We'll get into that tomorrow. Page 48 Day 7 - Left Hand You now know the 14 most popular chords. If you've made it this far, let's all breathe a collective sigh of relief, as today should be a relatively easy day. In just 6 days you now know every key on the piano, as well as the 14 most popular chords. It's high time we throw in the left hand. Up to this point everything we have done has been with the right hand and it's time to change that. Today will be completely devoted to adding in the left hand to what we have already done. Days First 8 eBook Page 49 Day 7 - Left Hand Let's start with our trusty C major chord in the right hand. The way to add in the left hand for now is to stretch out your hand and play two C notes, one with your left pinky, and one with your left thumb. These two C notes will be the next two C notes to the left of the chord you are playing in your right hand. Left Hand Days First 8 eBook Right Hand Page 50 Day 7 - Left Hand When you play the 3 notes in the right hand, also play the 2 notes in the left hand. And, it's the same in the left hand whether it's a major or minor chord. Practice Session 2: Tomorrow we'll learn 36 songs in just a few minutes. Repeat Practice Session 2 from Day 6, but add in the left hand. After Practice Session 2, that is all for today. One week down. I've got a special reward for you tomorrow for making it through the first week. After tomorrow, you will be able to play 36 songs. And it's only going to take us 18 hours, so make sure you get your sleep tonight. Only kidding! It's only going to take us a few minutes. And, it's not 36 songs like Silent Night. It's 36 pop and rock radio songs. That's the beauty of my method. Days First 8 eBook Page 51 Day 8 - Learn 36 Songs in a Few Minutes Welcome back to the course. Unfortunately you are reading the "8 Days" version of the eBook and that means this is our final lesson together for now. Fortunately, today is a great lesson. "But when I first fell in love with the piano, I knew it was me. I was dying to play." - Alicia Keys I teased it a little bit yesterday by telling you that you would be learning 36 songs today. And you are. But there is one small catch. All 36 songs use the same chords in the same order. Have you heard of the band Axis of Awesome? They have a YouTube video called "4 Chord Song" where they run through 36 pop and rock songs all using the same 4 chords. If you haven't seen the video, go check it out and come back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I Days First 8 eBook Page 52 Day 8 - Learn 36 Songs in a Few Minutes "If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse." - Unknown Pretty cool, huh? So, the obvious question is, what are the 4 chords? In that video they played E major, B major, C♯ minor, and A major. Now, I know what you are thinking: Jacques, we haven't learned C♯ minor! You would of course be correct. So, if you want to play these 36 songs, you have two options. The first option is to learn C♯ minor. I have given you the tools to do so, so it should not be too hard. Start at C♯. Since it's minor, go 3-4. Add in a couple of C♯'s to the left hand, and bingo. The 2nd option is to view another video from Axis of Awesome called "4 Chords Official Music Video": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ In this video the 4 chords are D major, A major, B minor, and G major. I'm going to choose this option going forward in this lesson. Days First 8 eBook Page 53 Day 8 - Learn 36 Songs in a Few Minutes Practice Session 2: Play the chords D major, A major, B minor, and G major in order over and over again. I've put together a special video lesson for you for today. You can view it here: http://pianoin21days.com/ebook-video/ Days First 8 eBook Page 54 Thanks for sticking around for the 8 days. Visit PianoIn21Days.com to learn more. Cheers! -Jacques Days First 8 eBook Page 55 0