Piano Playing is Easier than You Think When You Understand Musical Form

Form is the key that unlocks the musical map of a song or a musical compostition. Like a house has rooms, so a song has rooms or sections.

Chord progressions come in sections, like one room in a house. You can put several different rooms together to make a big house, or you can live in a one room house. Just like people. In most 3rd world countries people live in one room houses -- which means, of course, that much of the world lives in one-room houses.

Those of us who live in the West generally live in multi-room houses.

But there are also musical houses -- we call them songs -- that are built out of several different rooms -- several different chord progressions. Some of them, like mansions and castles, go on and on and get quite involved.

But most songs are like many modest houses -- they have 2 or 3 rooms, sometimes 4 -- built using 2 or 3 or 4 different chord progressions.

Each "room" in a musical house is called a theme, or a "motif". The first theme is always called "A". The next theme is called "B", the next theme is called "C", and so on. Most songs only have 2 or 3 themes, but these themes often repeat.

For example, let's say we have a chord progression that goes like this:

C Am7 Dm7 G7

...and then it repeats those same 4 chords...

and then we have another chord progression that goes like this: Gm7 C7 F Fm7 Bb7 Eb G7

...and then the first chord progression is used again as the song ends.

This song would have a musical form of A, A, B, A -- main theme, repeat of main theme, contrasting theme, main theme.

If a song went like this:

Theme contrast theme

?it would be known as ABA musical form

If a song went like this:

Theme, theme, contrast, theme

?.then the song would be in AABA musical form

The "B" section of a song is sometimes called the "bridge", or the "release", or the "chorus". These terms usually mean the same thing -- depending upon the form used.

Can you guess what this might be called?

Theme - contrast - theme - contrast - theme - contrast - theme - contrast

Right you are! A B A B form.

This is also known as "verse-chorus" form.

Most popular songs fall into one of these forms:

A B A

A A B A

A B A C A

A B A B

Why should you care?

Because if you know songs are constructed this way, you can look at songs with smart eyes -- you know what to look for, and once you determine the form, you have a "mental map" of the song -- you're not just wandering from chord to chord anymore.

In addition, most songs are proportional. That is -- 4 bars of section A, then 4 bars of section B, then another 4 bars of section A, and so on. You will find TONS and TONS of popular songs that are 32 bars long in A A B A form -- 8 bars of theme A, 8 bars of theme A repeated, then a bridge of 8 bars, finishing with 8 bars of theme A.

Does that give you an advantage knowing that?

It gives you a HUGE advantage because you know what to look for, and you know that if you learn theme A you have automatically learned 75% of the song! All that remains is to learn the 8 bars of the bridge, and you've got it!

And that's why you need to learn about form.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD's, CD's, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His courses have been written up in hundreds of newspapers and magazines. His book-CD-DVD course titled "How To Play Chord Piano" (http://www.chordpiano.com) has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds an advanced degree from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He has also logged time as an assistant music therapist, piano tuner, and working piano player. He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions" with over 55,000 current subscribers. Those interested may obtain a free subscription by going to http://www.playpiano.com/

---

Learning to Play the Piano with Chords Part 2

Do you want to learn how to play chords on... Read More

How To Find The Right Guitar Teacher

Finding a good teacher is not always easy, at any... Read More

Canadian Stars: The Marble Index and the Waking Eyes

Canadian Indie bands are dominating the music scene and it... Read More

Bang on Your Drum All Day Long - Without Annoying Your Neighbors!

Bang! Bam! Bang! Have you always wanted to play the... Read More

Guitar Players...Get a Balanced Guitar Practice Diet

Do you have a wide variety of things that you... Read More

New Age Piano Playing and the Sustain Pedal

There are 3 pedals on most pianos. The one on... Read More

Piano Lessons - Group or Private?

Piano lessons are a great activity for children. They encourage... Read More

Managing Your Time, when Music isnt Your Day Job

You CAN do everything.Repeat.You CAN do everything. What you cannot... Read More

Throat Singing In Inuit Culture

Originally, Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among... Read More

Playing The Piano Using Chord Symbols Instead of Being Tied To The Written Sheet Music

Piano improvising and arranging is an art but definitely not... Read More

The Art Of Practicing - How To See Real Results

I have always believed that success, in practically any subject... Read More

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME - Eliminate Throat Tension

As a vocal coach, I hear it all the time.... Read More

Warner Music Executive Payments

"In human life, art may arise from almost any activity,... Read More

Modal Theory for Guitar Players - Part 2

Playing the ModesWhen I used to use this pack with... Read More

A Guitar Lesson To Help You Test Your Note Knowledge

In this guitar lesson we look at a great way... Read More

Top Rap Song

After months of email and posts, we've finally compiled and... Read More

Music & Citizenship: Can Playing a Musical Instrument Help Your Child Become a Better Citizen?

Disregard the popular image of rappers with their ghetto blasters,... Read More

An Introduction to CD Mastering

While many people think that the mixing of the separate... Read More

Music and Healing: The Power of Meaningful Words and Music

We All Have a Favorite Piece of Music that Moves... Read More

Irish Fiddle Ornaments

When I started playing jigs, my default bowing pattern made... Read More

The Post-rock Revolution (Explosions in the sky)

A lot has been said about the 'post-rock' revolution as... Read More

Suzuki Violin Vs Traditional Violin

The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way... Read More

Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions

Piano arranging is the process by which you take a... Read More

If Setting The Gain Correctly is So Important, Why Dont Mic Preamplifiers Have Meters?

When you first learn how to use a mixing console,... Read More

Trusting Your Inner Voice - Key to Success at the Piano

We all have so many critical voices in our heads.Telling... Read More

A Quick and Easy Composition Method

Here's the method I use every time I want to... Read More

Learn to Read Music Online

If you or anyone you know wants to learn to... Read More

New M3 with Competition Package

The new competition package available for the BMW M3 is... Read More

Do you really need college to learn to play music?

Music courses are a great way to learn about virtually... Read More

Music Licensing

Music licensing can be a very confusing subject. My... Read More

Polychords and the Jazz Improviser: How to Practice & Apply Polychords to Improv

In the world of music, many Jazz improvisers and Classical... Read More

50 Cent G Unit

His lockjaw delivery makes him look as gangsta as Marlon... Read More

Flaming Guitars! Minarik Fuels The Excitement of a New Generation of Musicians

From the Telecaster to the Flying V to the Iceman... Read More