I don’t really like the sound of the E minor chord and we just played the A minor chord, but the C major chord actually sounds really good. We could play an E minor chord, an A minor chord, or a C major chord. How do we harmonize it? Well, E is our only note, so obviously that’s our “Key Note” so we need to find a chord that has an E in it. Next step, we have our A minor chord, and the next part of the song is three E’s in a row. This is also the benefit of harmonizing your songs. It’s a little trick that audiences LOVE too because it sounds unique. Many times I won’t use the “real” chords in a song if I find other chords that sound cooler. The real chord for “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is actually C major, but I think the A minor chord sounds cooler. How about an A minor chord? That actually sounds kind of cool. Let’s say we try a C major chord – you’ll find it sounds good. Choosing the “Right” Chords for “Mary Had a Little Lamb” If you play an E minor chord it sounds a little better because it has that E in it, but it doesn’t have that C so it’s going to sound kind of weird. If you play a D minor chord it doesn’t have an E or a C in it so it’s going to sound weird if you play it. If you use your cheat sheet or just know your chords really well, you’ll find that really the only chords that have an E and C is our C major chord and our A minor chord. When we harmonize we have an E and C so we want to look for a chord that has an E and C in it. The D is kind of just in between the strong notes. Notes 1 and 3 are the strongest beats, 2 and 4 are the next strongest beasts, and the “Ands” between the notes are the weakest parts.įor this song, that means the strongest notes are the E and C. The “Key Notes” are typically played on the strong beats of the measure. In our “Mary Had a Little Lamb” example, we’ll take just the first four notes. To start harmonizing a melody, take the “Key Notes” in the melody and find chords that contain those “Key Notes.” Then, use your ear to decide if you like it. No matter what key you’re in, no matter what chord you’re playing, you can quickly and easily find it. If you sign up for my free Become a Piano Superhuman course, you’ll get the cheat sheets for all this stuff. If you’re a beginner you’re actually only going to be focusing on six chords first – C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am. Yes, there are other possible chords in the “Key of C,” but they’re MUCH more rare. Now we’re left with seven possible chords. So, when we’re playing a song in the “Key of C,” MOST of the notes will be white notes. There are a bunch of different chords, but what you’ll realize once you learn a little music theory, is that you can notch down the possible set of chords to a really small percentage and it makes it much easier to harmonize.įirst, we start in the “Key of C” which contains all of the white notes. Next, we’re going to figure out which chords to use. We’ll start off by learning the actual melody for “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Take a look at the video for a quick demonstration of this. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is actually a GREAT starting point to master this skill since it has such a simple melody to begin with. When I say “Harmonizing a Melody” what I mean is finding left hand notes and chords that sound good and go well with a melody line. You won’t just be memorizing a random series of notes – you’ll actually be learning something you can apply to other songs in the future. You’re going to learn the exact notes to play and also about harmonizing a melody as well as a couple techniques that can be used to spice up melodies. Check it out for more detailed instruction. This video will let you actually see what I’m doing and it starts with a demonstration of how it’ll sound in the end. I’ll show you EXACTLY how to practice this updated version of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” but it only works if you follow along step-by-step. If you’re a beginner and it LOOKS challenging, just know that it’s actually much easier than it seems. This is not your grandma’s version of “Mary Had a Little Lamb!” Today I’m going to teach you how to play a COOL version of the song.
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