March 26th, 2009 by admin

You have to admit, it is enjoyable to put practice music to one side, and play any music you feel like.  However, it’s not always so easy to get hold of the sheet music for your favorite songs.  Well, there are a couple of techniques you can use to overcome this problem, and in some ways they are similar.  The first idea is the use of a Fake Book, and the second is to learn how to improvise. 

You can get Fake Books at music stores or by ordering them online.  You can also get a version of the same concept when you come across a simple notation of a song.  A Fake Book, or the like, has only two things to guide you. First, you will get a melody line in the treble clef.  This will usually only show one note at a time – no chords – and it will be a simplified version of the song. 

The second thing you will get with this simple music is a letter above the staff.  The letter signifies the chord you are to play in the bass clef and could possibly add to the treble clef if you are skilled enough.  There will be a letter above the staff each time the chord changes. 

if you have thoroughly learnt the chords, you put yourself in good enough steed to easily use a Fake Book.  You can use the straight chords or invert them.  They can be played as running chords, meaning each note is played separately but in order  Any rhythm can be chosen for the bass clef. 

Using a Fake Book is a somewhat creative endeavor.  It’s up to you and your knowledge of the song to figure out which notes have been left out.  In that regard you are in charge of inventing the music.  You can usually find Fake Books that are fairly current, with music you have heard recently on the radio. 

Yet, if you want to really come up with your own original song or instrumental piece, you can do it better by learning to improvise.  You can learn very complex theory about improvisation, but you can begin with the information you already have.  You need to know mainly about scales and chords. 

Perhaps to make things easier to begin with, choose a C scale, for the main reason that it uses white keys only.  Next, choose some chords within that scale.  For the C major scale, common chords to use are F major and G major.  This is because they do not have any sharps or flats in them. 

Make up a chord progression.  It can be C-F-G-C.  Make sure the chords are played with the left hand.  The base chords are usually played below middle C, but that is not a rule, by any means.  Play them wherever you see fit.  Play them as simple triads or invert them.  Play them in any sequence.  Then keep practicing until it becomes second nature. 

When you are comfortable with your chord progression, you can begin to improvise a melody.  Just play with your right hand, one note at a time to make a melody line.  It may not seem like music at first, but if you keep trying you will eventually come up with an interesting melody line. 

You can also improvise on a melody you know.  For example, if you wanted to play Jingle Bells, but you do not have the music at hand.  The melody can be easily picked out.  after you have chosen the melody this way, chords can be fit to the melody, simply based on the melodies scale of key.  So as you can see, even though you may not have the sheet music, there are ways you can still play the music without.

Learning to play the piano is easy, even for a beginner. One possible starting point is the no-obligation course at Learning To Play Piano Today. Check them out today, and enjoy your new found skill.