Piano Technique: Block Chords & Single Finger Melody

This is one of the most basic and fundamental technique in playing Piano. In this technique, you play melody with right hand (mostly) using one finger at a time whereas your right hand will play blocked chords (where all the notes of the chord are striked together and make them stay put until you want to strike the same/different chord notes again - together ofcourse).

Now, I have a word of sound caution and advice. The sound generated with this technique though is a great start but is far away from sounding professional or sophesticated. There is a tendency to skip this technique to jump to more 'good' stuff. This can be counter productive and cause great frustrations in future. Mastering this technique is a necessity for any of those 'good' stuff and hence even if you spend couple of years on this technique alone, it is totally worth it. This technique will help you with the following:

1. Getting sense of rhythm for the melody (which is the most important component of making music.
2. You see a chord symbol, your brain processes it and your hands play it. The more you play, the lesser the brain needs to get involved in the process. You just see the chord symbol and your hands play. It will become your second nature. This is where you would like to reach. All chord shapes and their inversions should be on your finger tips.

Once you achieve this skill, acquiring the 'sophisticated & good' stuff will be a cakewalk.

How To Learn

Both Cannel's & Monath's books go hand in hand here. While Monath's book keep it simple by focusing on the 'how' part, Cannel's book focus on the 'why' by explaining to us the theory behind music and its creation.

Start with Monath's book. Follow the instructions from Introduction to Lesson 8. There are only 10 lessons in this book and 80% of the book is dedicated to this technique. Considering the fact that this book covers a lot of ground, this explains the importance of mastering this technique.

While focusing on Monath's book, use Cannel's book as a reference book. Read through Introduction to Chapter 7 (Part 1 & 2). This book explains theory like no other book and with this book, theory will no longer remain as a 'theory' but a sound practical understanding of making of music.

Learning Tips

• Practice only 10-15 minutes at a stretch
• Practice more frequently - atleast once daily
• Focus on rhythm (i.e.) consistent forward motion of the song. Be mindful that your song should flow as you are singing. Avoid abrupt stops/unnecessary speeding(usually during easy melody part)/slowing(difficult melody part) of your playing. Keep the rhythm consistent even if it is at the expense of wrong notes.
• To achieve the above, play slowly. You should play much slower than you think you should be playing. Play as slow as you need to maintain the rhythm giving yourself more than ample time to read, process in your brain and for your hands to move from one part of Piano to another
• Play with both hands together. You may try once/twice with separate hands but that should just be to get accustomed to the melody or new chords. Jump to the wagon of playing with both hands as soon as possible. Wasting time on independent hand motion is as said just waste of time.

Important Takeaway

Practice by playing as slow as possible. You should be playing much slower than you think you should be playing.