Piano Theory and Technique:
Chords, Rhythm and More
There's more to playing piano than simply learning pieces! A crucial component of playing music is understanding it. Without a concept of piano theory, the notes on the page are just random. With theory knowledge, patterns and order start to emerge.
This section takes you through the most important building blocks of music theory, starting with how to read notes and rhythm. If you're a total or relative beginner, this is where you're going to want to start.
While it's important to be able to read music, it's also very important to train your ear as well. This translates into skills such as memorization, more artistic playing, and of course the ability to translate a radio tune to the keyboard.
Whether you're getting into Classical or pop/contemporary music, you'll want to be familiar with chords. Chords serve as the harmonic template for music, and can be infinitely varied. This page starts with the absolute basics, and discusses the main types of chords.
Rhythm is the backbone of music. It's just as important - maybe even more important - as being able to read the notes on the staff. Without rhythm, beloved tunes become unrecognizable. As with the other pages, this section starts with the absolute basics and works its way into more complicated rhythmic topics.
Not everyone is into the idea of composing music, but I believe that composing gives you a much more intimate understanding of music theory than simply studying a piece. This section discusses composing in both pop and Classical genres.
Piano technique includes things like scales, arpeggios, triads, and other related exercises that are designed to strengthen your fingers and coordination. You'll find a variety of scale tutorials in this section.