I love John Barry’s theme from Dances with Wolves called the John Dunbar theme which is a simple 1-6-4-5 in Eb major followed by 4-1-2-5 in the same key.
@@ReneAviles-ge6dw I do too and I'm in the process of applying what Tom is teaching here to playing hymns without memorizing the notes on the page. It's challenging!
Thank you. More deeply than you know. I have been playing for several years, and life, and death and everything in-between has caused me to drift from my passion of playing, and led to a great depression that made it impossible for me to even sit at the bench or get the motive to play, i prayed this morning, and asked to be shown what I'm supposed to do next....and low and behold your video was the only video that would load on youtube, all other boxes/thumbnails wouldn't load....for a reason. You have made me feel again. And rekindled that spark in me that i once had, and with something so simple, yet so beautifully done. I love your style and it's exactly how i like to play....thank you more than you know!
Everything you do is marvelous and makes playing look so easy...ish so having just been given a keyboard I decided to try and learn 'Your Song' from your 'the three easiest Elton John songs' and guess what, some five days into it I'm almost completely there...and that's without EVER having played a keyboard in my 75 years of life ! Next stage will be taking out the earphone jack and playing it to my wife who I hope will think I'm miming to a backing track ! So thank you Tom, I for one can't believe what I've achieved through you !
The final 5 minutes of using the 1-5-1 broken rolling chord on the left hand and a chord progression while improvising a melody with the right hand is absolute gold. Definitely going to use this to both improve my scale knowledge and free my brain to improvise.
A few that come to mind.... Journey -- "Don't Stop Believing" James Blunt -- "You're Beautiful" Black Eyed Peas -- "Where Is the Love" Alphaville -- "Forever Young" Jason Mraz -- "I'm Yours" Train -- "Hey Soul Sister" The Calling -- "Wherever You Will Go" Akon -- "Don't Matter" John Denver -- "Take Me Home, Country Roads" Lady Gaga -- "Paparazzi" U2 -- "With Or Without You" The Last Goodnight -- "Pictures of You" Maroon Five -- "She Will Be Loved" The Beatles -- "Let It Be" Bob Marley -- "No Woman No Cry" Marcy Playground -- "Sex and Candy" Men At Work -- "Land Down Under"
This was fabulous. As a beginner starting in lockdownand not quite finishing Adult Book 1, I had forgetten practicallty all the songs I had learned; learning these chord progressions the way you taught it, was accessible to me and very satisfying. Thank you.
Thank you, Phil. Teaching is a mixture of the technical craft and being able to remember how you somehow learned something many moons ago, or even better still how you wish you had learned it, had you had the knowledge of hindsight!
Amazing, as a beginner your tutorials bring to light how much easier and more fun it can be playing chord progressions and it enables better finger muscle memory than just going up and down the keys, loved this thank you.
Thank you! I am one of those slave to the sheet music, classically trained musicians. I can easily learn the progressions and improvise, but playing the melody by ear is where the catch is. So I would still need a lead sheet with the melody.
Me too! Classically trained, relied heavily on sheet music and always had a hard time memorizing. Finally this new world is opening up to me of improvisation using chords, etc. Plus, even in classical music, I’ve started making myself look away from the sheet music as I’m learning it, thus learning pieces and memorizing at the same time.
Dear Barb, It is definitely possible for classical musicians to learn how to improvise off the score,I n fact, I have helped many musicians over the years to open up to this world. The first step is to leverage the knowledge you already have, which you may be taking for granted. For example, you already know your major scales, so why not start by improvising on them? The next step is to establish some basic definitions and steps for improvisation. For instance, we could define improvisation as simply playing a scale with the notes in a different order. Now, you may be thinking that 99 percent of classical music already does this, as we don't just listen to scales going up and down. But let's take a step back and focus on the Blues. By locking in a Blues scale on Blues Rhythms (swing patterns) and moving around the scale in different directions, we can start improvising. Breaking it down into steps like this can be very effective for classically trained musicians. It's worth noting that classical music has a rich history of improvisation, which has sadly become a lost art in recent times. I hope this explanation helps and inspires you to start exploring the world of improvisation. Please let me know if you have any questions or need further guidance. www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com
You can really see how much fun you are having and I feel that is the whole point anyways❤ thank you so much for sharing this way of understanding musical relationships 🤙
Thank you, this is great lesson made simple. I am trying to follow the sequence of notes you were playing with both hands, but couldn't make out. Can you advice on getting that pattern under the fingers ? thanks much in advance.
Hej Tom. I love your video on you tube. So much that I be a member at your compagni 1 november for the starting course, cant remember mush, so lets start from the beginnings. Oluf Jakobsen denmark
In a jazz context, "Maiden Voyage" "All the things you are" and "So What" would be good for modulation in improvisation. These pieces can be found on the LCSP channel. Let me know if you need any links.
Hi! Could you please provide the link to the page on your website to sign up for the cheat sheet and list of songs? I don't seem to be able to find it. Thank you. I really enjoy your style of delivery. Fidelma
Music is amazing; you can hundreds of Melodies with the sane chord progressions and every time, surprise the world. It is a good thing that no greedy songwriter has tried to own chord progressions; anybody giving his vote to help a psycho, with that kind of mentality, win his case in a court of law, should be removed from office; so, he will have time to study music, that he will know how stupid and sick people claiming rights over chord progressions are.
Throughout my life, I've had the privilege of being in the company of musicians - they're some of the most selfless, caring, and generous individuals I've encountered. Usually, it's the impersonal, vast corporations that demonstrate such avarice, not the artists who breathe life into music. As a point of interest, chord progressions are not subject to copyright. The notion of owning a chord progression borders on the absurd, akin to staking a claim on the very foundations of music! Wishing anyone the best of luck with such an attempt. Here's an interesting anecdote that illuminates this point - the renowned jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker didn't merely perform the tune for Erroll Garner's 'Misty.' Instead, he followed its exact chord progressions, resulting in his masterwork, 'Anthropology.' This tale beautifully illustrates how musicians build upon and transform existing pieces into new, unique works of art.
That's odd, the videos have mastered audio on them, and we haven't had this feedback before, for the many views we've had with this video. What device are you using? One other option is to use headphones or turn on the subtitles, they have been transcribed by us, so they are 100 percent accurate to what is being said.
Ah, the scroll bar, friend! It's a ticket to hop over the tedious theory that makes your brows furrow. After all, you never know when Beethoven might pop on by.....
@@contemporaryschoolofpiano All I'm saying is, why not start off by telling us the four chords then give the theory to those who who'd like to know? You know full well you were deliberately dragging it out. And by the way, there's an even more popular chord progression, some call it the '50s progression: C Am F G7. Ask Beethoven, when he pops by, if he's heard of that.
@@justinthyme5730 Crikey, you'll never guess, we've just had a chit-chat with good ol' Beethoven, yes, Ludwig himself! And, would you believe it, he's only gone and told us that this flippin' 1-5-6-4 progression kicks off at the very start of this video. Ha! There we were, puffing out our chests, thinking we were all big and clever and keeping it suspenseful, but it's right there from the word "action." And it doesn't let up, not even for a tea break, just like any other ear-battering modern pop tune. You can just imagine him, sitting there, miffed beyond belief. This is hardly his cherished 9th Symphony, where you've got to wait, what, a good hour until the crescendo of the Ode to Joy. I'll tell you, he'd be breaking a sweat in today's quick-fix world, where your average Joe Public barely has the patience to wait a minute for the gag that's already slipped past him in the background...
@@contemporaryschoolofpiano Playing the chords and naming the chords are two different things. The Wiki page, regarding this progression, names the four chords in the very first paragraph (Then the page goes into the techo stuff). Wiki does exactly the same on the '50s progression page, no messing around, straight to the point. My main point remains... you were stalling with the main point of your video. As a guitarist, I personally knew what the four chords were... I was simply amused by how you unnecessarily dragged out the main point of your video. Although I would imagine that beginners would find that quite frustrating.
@@justinthyme5730 Cast aside our snore-inducing videos," you exclaim, "And gallivant off to Wikipedia to master the piano!" A great bit of advice for the masses of discontented beginners on this page, (when they show up) and we wait with bated breath! Side note, can you hear a 1-5-6-4 on Wiki played on a piano, within 1 second of viewing, like you can on this video?....
Chord theory is best understood in numbers, not letters. If you think of it in letters, you will never know the relationship or understand the meaning of the chord progressions. That's why learning the numbers of the progressions, and 1 5 6 4 is used in hundreds and hundreds of songs, too many I would say! But if you personally don't like the Beatles, I can suggest a whole bunch of other tunes by other bands that use this progression... They all use 1 5 6 4. So start with some scales you know, C major, what is a 1 5 6 4 in C major? C G Am F ... or in G major G D Em C and so on... A few songs that come to mind.... Journey -- "Don't Stop Believing" James Blunt -- "You're Beautiful" Black Eyed Peas -- "Where Is the Love" Alphaville -- "Forever Young" Jason Mraz -- "I'm Yours" Train -- "Hey Soul Sister" The Calling -- "Wherever You Will Go" Akon -- "Don't Matter" John Denver -- "Take Me Home, Country Roads" Lady Gaga -- "Paparazzi" U2 -- "With Or Without You" The Last Goodnight -- "Pictures of You" Maroon Five -- "She Will Be Loved" Bob Marley -- "No Woman No Cry" Marcy Playground -- "Sex and Candy" Men At Work -- "Land Down Under".
mm, I think that although the video is for ‘beginners’ which covers a really large spectrum of learners and styles of learning. Perhaps what you could do is just work (assuming you have keyboard) on the key of C and work out all the chords / triads. So personally I think a little familiarity with scale letters I think is helpful - I use it almost in conjunction with numbers as I figure things out. CDEFGAB correspond to 1234567 C Major = C E G = 1 3 5 Don’t be frustrated! Learning is often muddy before the rain washes off the mud!
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for watching! What songs are using these powerful progressions?
Wagon Wheel
I enjoy playing himns
I love John Barry’s theme from Dances with Wolves called the John Dunbar theme which is a simple 1-6-4-5 in Eb major followed by 4-1-2-5 in the same key.
@@ReneAviles-ge6dw I do too and I'm in the process of applying what Tom is teaching here to playing hymns without memorizing the notes on the page. It's challenging!
You’re such a great teacher! Thank you!
"Many come to teach but only a few can transfer knowledge"
Brilliant!
Thank you very much.
Thank you. More deeply than you know. I have been playing for several years, and life, and death and everything in-between has caused me to drift from my passion of playing, and led to a great depression that made it impossible for me to even sit at the bench or get the motive to play, i prayed this morning, and asked to be shown what I'm supposed to do next....and low and behold your video was the only video that would load on youtube, all other boxes/thumbnails wouldn't load....for a reason. You have made me feel again. And rekindled that spark in me that i once had, and with something so simple, yet so beautifully done. I love your style and it's exactly how i like to play....thank you more than you know!
Everything you do is marvelous and makes playing look so easy...ish so having just been given a keyboard I decided to try and learn 'Your Song' from your 'the three easiest Elton John songs' and guess what, some five days into it I'm almost completely there...and that's without EVER having played a keyboard in my 75 years of life ! Next stage will be taking out the earphone jack and playing it to my wife who I hope will think I'm miming to a backing track ! So thank you Tom, I for one can't believe what I've achieved through you !
That's wonderful to hear David. I'm inspired to hear your story. Reach out to us anytime if you need more help with anything!
The final 5 minutes of using the 1-5-1 broken rolling chord on the left hand and a chord progression while improvising a melody with the right hand is absolute gold. Definitely going to use this to both improve my scale knowledge and free my brain to improvise.
*1, 5, 6m, 4 and 6m, 4, 1, 5*
*C, G, Am, F and Am, F, C, G*
*that’s awesome dude! Wow!*
I've been teaching myself piano and your videos are among the best.
A few that come to mind....
Journey -- "Don't Stop Believing"
James Blunt -- "You're Beautiful"
Black Eyed Peas -- "Where Is the Love"
Alphaville -- "Forever Young"
Jason Mraz -- "I'm Yours"
Train -- "Hey Soul Sister"
The Calling -- "Wherever You Will Go"
Akon -- "Don't Matter"
John Denver -- "Take Me Home, Country Roads"
Lady Gaga -- "Paparazzi"
U2 -- "With Or Without You"
The Last Goodnight -- "Pictures of You"
Maroon Five -- "She Will Be Loved"
The Beatles -- "Let It Be"
Bob Marley -- "No Woman No Cry"
Marcy Playground -- "Sex and Candy"
Men At Work -- "Land Down Under"
Amazing and how EASY you make it look !!! THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR@!!!
This was fabulous. As a beginner starting in lockdownand not quite finishing Adult Book 1, I had forgetten practicallty all the songs I had learned; learning these chord progressions the way you taught it, was accessible to me and very satisfying. Thank you.
You are a natural teacher, sir!
Thank you, Phil. Teaching is a mixture of the technical craft and being able to remember how you somehow learned something many moons ago, or even better still how you wish you had learned it, had you had the knowledge of hindsight!
You are simply amazing and inspiring! Thank you so much!
Nice lesson, thanks
Love this lesson so useful
I have finally found the piano approach that I was looking for, thank you so so much! See you in June for your masterclass, can't wait!
Amazing, as a beginner your tutorials bring to light how much easier and more fun it can be playing chord progressions and it enables better finger muscle memory than just going up and down the keys, loved this thank you.
Oh, Tom. This was BEAUTIFUL, extremely powerful! Thank you so much!
Great lesson - the whole world should learn this! So enjoyable and insightful. Thank you Tom!
Awesome 🎉thanks Mr. TOM D🎉🎉🎉🎉
Fantastic tnks
which keyboard are you using? I play dexibel s 9 but is no so brillant...
Great video, thanks.
Amazing 🤩 😻 🥲 ! Once again , how to practice this chord progression has opened another door for me ! Thanks Tom.
Thanks Sir, very useful information. Blessings.
Thank you! I am one of those slave to the sheet music, classically trained musicians. I can easily learn the progressions and improvise, but playing the melody by ear is where the catch is. So I would still need a lead sheet with the melody.
Me too! Classically trained, relied heavily on sheet music and always had a hard time memorizing. Finally this new world is opening up to me of improvisation using chords, etc. Plus, even in classical music, I’ve started making myself look away from the sheet music as I’m learning it, thus learning pieces and memorizing at the same time.
Dear Barb,
It is definitely possible for classical musicians to learn how to improvise off the score,I n fact, I have helped many musicians over the years to open up to this world.
The first step is to leverage the knowledge you already have, which you may be taking for granted. For example, you already know your major scales, so why not start by improvising on them? The next step is to establish some basic definitions and steps for improvisation. For instance, we could define improvisation as simply playing a scale with the notes in a different order.
Now, you may be thinking that 99 percent of classical music already does this, as we don't just listen to scales going up and down. But let's take a step back and focus on the Blues. By locking in a Blues scale on Blues Rhythms (swing patterns) and moving around the scale in different directions, we can start improvising.
Breaking it down into steps like this can be very effective for classically trained musicians. It's worth noting that classical music has a rich history of improvisation, which has sadly become a lost art in recent times.
I hope this explanation helps and inspires you to start exploring the world of improvisation. Please let me know if you have any questions or need further guidance.
www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com
Count me in. 😢😢
Fabulous explanation for a rusty senior! Thank you.😁👏👏
You're very welcome! I'm glad my explanation was able to cut through the rust - I must be using some pretty sharp tools!...
You can really see how much fun you are having and I feel that is the whole point anyways❤ thank you so much for sharing this way of understanding musical relationships 🤙
You are so welcome!
Brilliant video so informative thank you!
Awesome and insightful content. Awesome piano player. Thank you much!
I'm so glad to hear that you found the content insightful and that you enjoyed my piano playing. It's always great to hear.
Exvelente. Gran maestro. Muchas gracias.
Great lesson thanks very much
Merci beaucoup for this Awesome lesson. Love you style, to the point yet opening up the journey for us to explore.
It's always my goal to provide clear and concise instruction while also encouraging exploration and creativity.
Yes great
Awesome video. Thoroughly enjoying and inspired by your content and approach to teaching.
🎉 Thanks so much for this!! This is just what I have been looking for !!
Best wishes from South Africa
This is awesome and so simple I’ve got to see more!
Absolutely amazing - if I would not be already 75 - i'd visit you tomorrow!
Just beautiful!!!
Thank you!
Rolf
Many thanks!
Absolutely brilliant, thx !
An example ? U2 with or without you, in D (D D/A Bm D/G).
Axis of awesome 4 chord song lol. Great stuff again. Thanks Tom 😊
I'm glad you enjoyed the lesson.
Far out man, you just unlocked a big unknown to me. Many thanks 😊
Enjoy the journey !! Great news.
"far out" - so good to hear that phrase from back in the day!
Simply amazing!!! 🙌🏼
Thank you!!
Excellent video. Congrats. Thank you!
Hero , thanks again!❤
awesome stuff bro
Thanks🌹🙏 beautiful✨❤
4 chords that made a million -- Steve Wilson
❤ hymn the one your wit. Thks you.
Would thank you immensely for this
Thanks heaps Tom.
Welcome!
Beautiful performance I would like to know more about this
What is the email address to reach Tom and the LCSoP? Tom, you are brilliant. Your method of instruction makes learning easy and enjoyable. Cheers
you can reach us at admin@contemporaryschoolofpiano.com
Thanks so much for that insight on chord, progressions, and the seven chord cheat sheet. that was an awesome lesson!
Thank you, this is great lesson made simple. I am trying to follow the sequence of notes you were playing with both hands, but couldn't make out. Can you advice on getting that pattern under the fingers ? thanks much in advance.
Good day. Looking forward to a free copy of the 1654 sheet. Send by wa. Regards. Love yr way of teaching.
Hej Tom. I love your video on you tube. So much that I be a member at your compagni 1 november for the starting course, cant remember mush, so lets start from the beginnings. Oluf Jakobsen denmark
Dear Oluf. Welcome aboard, we look forward to working with you.
Hi Tom, could you pls let me know if the teaching format, keyboard picture, content same as that in the Master Musician Class?
Will you be covering modulation in any of your videos? I am excited to catch up with all of them.
In a jazz context, "Maiden Voyage" "All the things you are" and "So What" would be good for modulation in improvisation. These pieces can be found on the LCSP channel. Let me know if you need any links.
What would be the best method of learning these chords by ear? I know all my chords and scales but I need to be able to Hear the chords better.
Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (except the bridge).
Hi! Could you please provide the link to the page on your website to sign up for the cheat sheet and list of songs? I don't seem to be able to find it. Thank you. I really enjoy your style of delivery. Fidelma
Yes, just visit www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com and ask ask for the 7 chords cheat sheet.
Thank you!
❤❤
Did you ever upload part 2 of your sightreading video?
Can you email us via our website, www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com and our team can check this for you. We removed some of our older YT videos.
hi therehow do you get a copy of this sheet thanks steve
Contact us at www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com and we will send you the resources pack immediately
Music is amazing; you can hundreds of Melodies with the sane chord progressions and every time, surprise the world. It is a good thing that no greedy songwriter has tried to own chord progressions; anybody giving his vote to help a psycho, with that kind of mentality, win his case in a court of law, should be removed from office; so, he will have time to study music, that he will know how stupid and sick people claiming rights over chord progressions are.
Throughout my life, I've had the privilege of being in the company of musicians - they're some of the most selfless, caring, and generous individuals I've encountered. Usually, it's the impersonal, vast corporations that demonstrate such avarice, not the artists who breathe life into music. As a point of interest, chord progressions are not subject to copyright. The notion of owning a chord progression borders on the absurd, akin to staking a claim on the very foundations of music! Wishing anyone the best of luck with such an attempt.
Here's an interesting anecdote that illuminates this point - the renowned jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker didn't merely perform the tune for Erroll Garner's 'Misty.' Instead, he followed its exact chord progressions, resulting in his masterwork, 'Anthropology.' This tale beautifully illustrates how musicians build upon and transform existing pieces into new, unique works of art.
The volume is so soft I’m unable to clearly hear you. I did check the volume on my device
That's odd, the videos have mastered audio on them, and we haven't had this feedback before, for the many views we've had with this video. What device are you using? One other option is to use headphones or turn on the subtitles, they have been transcribed by us, so they are 100 percent accurate to what is being said.
After 5 friggin minutes he finally tells you the chords. Some people really drag out their videos.
Ah, the scroll bar, friend! It's a ticket to hop over the tedious theory that makes your brows furrow. After all, you never know when Beethoven might pop on by.....
@@contemporaryschoolofpiano All I'm saying is, why not start off by telling us the four chords then give the theory to those who who'd like to know? You know full well you were deliberately dragging it out. And by the way, there's an even more popular chord progression, some call it the '50s progression: C Am F G7. Ask Beethoven, when he pops by, if he's heard of that.
@@justinthyme5730 Crikey, you'll never guess, we've just had a chit-chat with good ol' Beethoven, yes, Ludwig himself! And, would you believe it, he's only gone and told us that this flippin' 1-5-6-4 progression kicks off at the very start of this video. Ha! There we were, puffing out our chests, thinking we were all big and clever and keeping it suspenseful, but it's right there from the word "action." And it doesn't let up, not even for a tea break, just like any other ear-battering modern pop tune. You can just imagine him, sitting there, miffed beyond belief. This is hardly his cherished 9th Symphony, where you've got to wait, what, a good hour until the crescendo of the Ode to Joy. I'll tell you, he'd be breaking a sweat in today's quick-fix world, where your average Joe Public barely has the patience to wait a minute for the gag that's already slipped past him in the background...
@@contemporaryschoolofpiano Playing the chords and naming the chords are two different things. The Wiki page, regarding this progression, names the four chords in the very first paragraph (Then the page goes into the techo stuff). Wiki does exactly the same on the '50s progression page, no messing around, straight to the point. My main point remains... you were stalling with the main point of your video. As a guitarist, I personally knew what the four chords were... I was simply amused by how you unnecessarily dragged out the main point of your video. Although I would imagine that beginners would find that quite frustrating.
@@justinthyme5730 Cast aside our snore-inducing videos," you exclaim, "And gallivant off to Wikipedia to master the piano!" A great bit of advice for the masses of discontented beginners on this page, (when they show up) and we wait with bated breath! Side note, can you hear a 1-5-6-4 on Wiki played on a piano, within 1 second of viewing, like you can on this video?....
Too many Beatles songs! Don't know what he is playing when he does NOT NAME EACH keynote or chords by letters 🔤🔠!
Chord theory is best understood in numbers, not letters. If you think of it in letters, you will never know the relationship or understand the meaning of the chord progressions. That's why learning the numbers of the progressions, and 1 5 6 4 is used in hundreds and hundreds of songs, too many I would say! But if you personally don't like the Beatles, I can suggest a whole bunch of other tunes by other bands that use this progression...
They all use 1 5 6 4. So start with some scales you know, C major, what is a 1 5 6 4 in C major?
C G Am F ... or in G major
G D Em C and so on...
A few songs that come to mind....
Journey -- "Don't Stop Believing"
James Blunt -- "You're Beautiful"
Black Eyed Peas -- "Where Is the Love"
Alphaville -- "Forever Young"
Jason Mraz -- "I'm Yours"
Train -- "Hey Soul Sister"
The Calling -- "Wherever You Will Go"
Akon -- "Don't Matter"
John Denver -- "Take Me Home, Country Roads"
Lady Gaga -- "Paparazzi"
U2 -- "With Or Without You"
The Last Goodnight -- "Pictures of You"
Maroon Five -- "She Will Be Loved"
Bob Marley -- "No Woman No Cry"
Marcy Playground -- "Sex and Candy"
Men At Work -- "Land Down Under".
mm, I think that although the video is for ‘beginners’ which covers a really large spectrum of learners and styles of learning.
Perhaps what you could do is just work (assuming you have keyboard) on the key of C and work out all the chords / triads.
So personally I think a little familiarity with scale letters I think is helpful - I use it almost in conjunction with numbers as I figure things out.
CDEFGAB correspond to 1234567
C Major = C E G = 1 3 5
Don’t be frustrated! Learning is often muddy before the rain washes off the mud!