Playing the Piano with Chords - Paperback

by Kevin G. Pace (Author)

Playing the Piano With Chords is a book to teach pianists to play chords. It can be used by anyone who wants to learn to play the piano by chord. The following skills are taught in volume 1: 1-Recognize and play the intervals of minor and major 3rds. 2-How triads are formed (the concept of stacked 3rds). 3-Similarities and patterns in chords. For instance, C major, G major, and F major are all formed using only white keys. 4-Recognize and play the basic chord types: Major, Minor, Augmented, Diminished, Sus4, & Sus2. 5-Play the various chord types in various styles. For example, block chords, arpeggiated chords, Alberti bass, boogie, etc. 6-Learn to move between the chord types by changing one note. For example, when moving from C major to C minor, one lowers the middle note of the triad by one half step. 7-Begin to improvise using the basic chord types. 8-Be familiar with enharmonic spellings of chords. For example, Gb Major and F# Major use the same keys on the piano, but they are spelled differently. 9-Recognize and play the various types of seventh chords. 10-Playing with a metronome is encouraged to build speed and mastery. Volume 1 focuses on the main types of triads and the basic types of seventh chords.

Author Biography

Kevin G. Pace is an award-winning composer and musician. He has written numerous works in many different genres including music for choir, beginning to advanced piano solo, and piano duet and chamber music. His music ranges from sacred to blues to boogie to classical/romantic to modern. Kevin has a degree in music composition from the University of Utah. He also has two degrees in special education. He lives with his wife and dog in the Salt Lake valley. He has six children and 16 grandchildren.