Harmony at The Piano

We all know that beneath the surface of music, beyond the joy or excitement or even heartache that this beautiful language of sound can stir within us, lies the often mysterious realm of music theory—a complex syntax of structural and instrumental resources that composers may draw on. No matter what kind of music we listen to—symphony or string quartet, saxophone solo or vocal ballad, hip hop or Gregorian chant—we feel the impact of that music and have done so all our lives, even though we may not know how such impact is achieved, or understand the fundamental processes of musical composition. But what if we did understand how certain musical effects were achieved? What if we could learn to follow the often-intimidating language of key signatures, pitch, mode, melody, meter, and other parts of musical structure used by composers? What if we could recognize these various components at work as we listened to our favorite music? What if we could "speak" the language of Western music?

Designed especially for “beginning” quitters, this introduction to the Piano for Life series is the first place to start if you’re looking into this program. In this 90-minute video, piano instructor Mark Almond explains why there are so many quitters, and how a more holistic approach, based on chords and harmony, is much more successful than simply and slowly learning notes. The video teaches aspiring pianists the simple rules of harmony without bogging them down in musical notation, and introduces them to the standard chord symbols used by professionals in non-technical language and with plenty of examples. Beginners and “quitters” of all ages can learn from and enjoy this introduction, which will give them a good foundation in most styles of piano music, including classical, pop, jazz, and more.

The study of harmony is universally recognized as one of the basic disciplines in the musical education of the composer, performer, researcher, and music teacher. It should nor be unreasonable to cxpcct that a course of study in harmony, seriously pursued, would enable the student to use the material fluently and practically; yet comparatively few students achieve that end. …