Music Theory
How to Improvise Chords for Pop Music for Beginners
Today’s video explores a rather loaded subject – how to improvise chords for pop music. This is basically the ability to go online, find a lead sheet or lyrics/chords, and then improvise – make up – your own version without music.
Read MoreHow to Play a Melody By Ear: An Overview
In today’s video, we’re going to look at how to play a melody by ear. We’ll do an overview of what it takes, and I’ll share some suggestions and tips that I’ve learned over the years.
Read MoreHow to Read Key Signatures: The Simplest Trick in the World
Today we’re going to talk theory – specifically, how to key signatures. I am going to show you a music reading trick that blew my mind when I first learned it. I don’t usually throw around big phrases like “in the world”, but when I do, it’s because there’s some serious mind-blowing power involved.
Read MoreMastering Musical Rhythms with Fruit
In today’s episode of PianoTV, we’re going to have a little fun and be a little silly. We’re going to look at mastering musical rhythms….with fruit. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of fruit. And I’m also a big fan of music! So what happens when you put music together with fruit? Basically…
Read MoreThree Chords to Know on Piano (In Every Key)
It’s been a while since we talked about chords, so today we’ll hop onto the piano and have a little bit of playtime. We’re going to talk about the three chords to know on piano – or any instrument, really. These aren’t just chords that I think are important. These are the most common chords…
Read MoreQ&A: How to Play With a Metronome
In today’s video, I wanted to talk about how you can learn to play with a metronome. I also want to talk about why you would use a metronome in the first place, how much to use it, and if it makes a difference in your playing at all. Today’s video is actually a request,…
Read MoreSongwriting Basics: A Pentatonic Song
Today we’re going to dip our toes in composition and look at some piano songwriting basics. I’ve written a tune with the very unique title of “Pentatonic Song”, which you can download below. You can learn it, or study it, or use it as a launching point for your own composition. I wanted to build…
Read MorePentatonic Scales: The Handiest Jamming/Improv Tool
Hey friends! Today we’ll be chatting about pentatonic scales, which is an extremely useful scale to know if you’re into jamming and improvising (even if that’s just something you do by yourself). We’re going to talk about how to figure them out (the theory), listen to a few examples of songs that use them, and…
Read MoreWhy Scales are Important, and How To Build a Major Scale
Scales are something that I like to work on with all of my students. They can sometimes seem like a drag, though, so I wanted to talk about why exactly I find them so useful. In today’s video, I also wanted to look at how to build a major scale. Every single key on the…
Read MoreStrong and Weak Beats in Time Signatures: Rhythm Lesson
Today’s video is a collaboration with my friend Eric over at popmusictheory.com. He’s awesome and does really good in-depth blog posts once a week on nerdy theory topics, but in a really accessible way – by relating it to pop music. So today we’ve decided to collaborate on a rhythmic topic: Strong and weak beats…
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