music keyboard master

7/15/2019 Music Keyboard Master

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K ey boar d Master

By Maur ice Ellis

The easiest way to lear n Chords, K eys and Scales,

in hours, not months, using very sim ple f or mulas.

.

Co pyr ight 2008 Maurice S. Ellis

http://www.chordmusic.net/






Contents page

Parts one to ten

1) Intr oduction

2) How to find chords and scales using sim ple f or mulas.

3) Why play chords when one f inger will do?

4) How to work out the k eys.

5) Now for the scales.

6) Finding chords from scales.

7) Chord chart with f or mulas.

8) Augmented and diminished chor ds.

9) K eys and scales char t

10) For mulas mentioned.



How to learn chords, scales and keys in hours not months.

For keyboard and chord-piano player s.

Intr oduction.

If you are a beginning keyboard player you will pr o ba bly be a little worr ied as to

how you are going to be a ble to remember masses of chords, scales and keys

without having to constantly refer to charts and diagr ams. Well, I have put

together the inf or mation in this instr uction book let to make your life much easier .

You will lear n in minutes what it takes some peo ple months to lear n. Don’t dou bt

this because it r eally works and it is so sim ple. Once you understand the f or mulas

you’ll be a ble to play most chords you will ever need, lear n how to play the scale in

every key and be a ble to instantly r ecognize which key any piece of music is in. And

what’s more, you will no longer be f r ightened of sharps and f lats.

If you are tak ing up a new challenge then you are a layman. Ther ef or e, if you

are like me, you would like to lear n it in the least technical way possi ble. This is

what I have tr ied to do wi th this instr uction book on lear ning to play a keyboard in

the shortest possi ble time. I will assume nothing, except your desir e to play the

keyboard to the best of your a bility. These instr uctions are not meant for those of

you who want to become an accom plished pianist. They are designed pr imar ily f or

player s of keyboards with built in chord accom paniment. However, they should be

of benef it and inter est to pianists.

Is it hard to lear n to play a keyboard? Well, that depends on you. It has been

said that ever ything is hard before it becomes easy. Many keyboard player s take it

up because they str uggle to get to gr i ps with playing the piano to a good standar d

- I know that I cer tainly did, but they still have a desir e to produce good music –

for their own pleasur e of for others.



If this is the case with you then there is only one thing you have to do -

Pr actice! This, of course, is once you know the necessary techniques, and they ar e

easy to lear n.

This manual is for those who want to play from Chord music. Also known as Fak e

music or Lead sheets. This means that you only get the Tr e ble clef with all the

necessary chords shown above the staff. Base clef is omitted in most cases.

The great thing about modern keyboards is that they produce a r eally good

accom paniment to your melody, and this can be done by using only one f inger to

play the chords. However, it is better to lear n how to play full chords - I’ll ex plain

why later . These are easy to lear n by using sim ple mathematical f or mulas. Don’t let

that put you off. The only maths you will need is the ability to count up to seven.

You’ll see what I mean later on in this book. Ther e are hundreds of chords which

would take you ages to lear n by heart so this system will teach you all the chor ds

you need within a cou ple of days- r eally!

Ther e are sever al things you will need to know before you can hope to become a

good keyboard player :

1) Be a ble to name all the notes on a k ey boar d.

2) Be a ble to read the melody line from a piece of sheet music.

3) Be a ble to understand what that other stuff is wr itten on the music sheet.

4) Be prepared to pr actice.

If you cannot read the melody line on a lead sheet go to your local li br ar y and

borrow a book on music theory. Music theory will not be taught in this book - well,

maybe a little. Theory is im por tant. The more you understand the theory of music

the easier it will become for you to put ever ything together and become a mor e

accom plished player . Af ter all, you wouldn’t expect to become a pilot without

lear ning the theory of f light.



G

F

A

E

Ther e are thousands, if not millions, of ar ticles on the inter net dealing with musical

theory. Why not do a search and you may be very sur pr ised at some of the usef ul

Information you come across. So let’s get on with it.

B C D G

D E

AB C

F

B C A

<<<Middle C

Above is the treble clef showing all the notes from A to C. Most pop songs, played on a keyboard using

the built in accompaniment, will normally be in the above range. If you have problems figuring out the two

lines below and above the staff – including the space - just remember they are A, B, C, below and above.

Middle C refers to the middle note between the treble and bass clef, not the middle of the keyboard. The

A at the bottom is the top line of the Bass Clef.

How to find chords and scales using simple f or mulas.

The only musical k nowledge you need is the ability to read the melody line and

how to find the notes on a keyboard. If you can do that playing keyboard is easy. Did

you know that a keyboard can be played using mathematical f or mulas? Well, it can

but some peo ple find it difficult to get to gr i ps with maths. However, with this

system you only need to be a ble to count up to seven. Now, there are very sim ple

f or mulas to hel p us find all the im por tant chords, keys and scales.



Tip!

If you are a beginner at playing the keyboard you would be better off practicing with

familiar songs. Choose songs you know really well, such as Silent night, Love me

tender etc. This way you won’t struggle too much with the melody and you

’ll be

able to concentrate more on the chords.

Here are the f ormulas. Explanation f ollows.

2212221: Diatonic Scales.

2122122: Minor scales.

4 + 3: Dominant chords. = Triad (3-note chor d)

4 + 3 + 4: Ma jor 7th chor ds.

4 + 3 + 3: 7th. Chords (4-note chor d).

4 + 6: 7th. Chords (3-note chor d).*

*This is easier to play but I recommend you go fo r the f ull, 4-note 7th chor d, Using inversions.

3+4+3. Minor 7th Chords. (4 note chor d).

3+3: Diminished chor d.

4+4: Augmented chor ds.

2 + 5: Suspended 2nd

chor d.

4 + 5: Suspended 4th

chord.

3 + 4. Minor chords. Triad (3-note chor d).

And that's all there is to it. Who needs chord charts? Just lear n the f or mulas

above and you will be a ble to find all the scales and all the most widely used chor ds

on a keyboard. And the great thing about this system is that you don't actually

have to remember loads of scales and chords because, with these f or mulas, you

alr eady know them all!

Now for the breakdown:



Here is how it wor k s:

Finding the scales.

Let's start where everybody starts from - Middle C.

Every note which we start with, for our f or mula, is always the 'R oot’ note and is

zero-rated. In other words it is never counted. See below:

C: Diatonic scale. C is zero rated because it is the root note.

C D E F G A B C

0 2 2 1 2 2 2 1

If you start at C and count every note from there - including the black notes -

using the above f or mula, you will play the C scale. C is the root note, now count 2

and we hit the D. Now coun t 2 again and we hit the E, now count 1 and we hit F,

and so on. No matter which note you start on - as the root note - you will always

end up playing the correct scale. Try it out for your self r ight now. Easy, isn't it? In

about two minutes you have lear ned how to play every scale you will need.



Look at the scale of Bb below:

B b C D E b F G A B b The Bb scale using the f or mula underneath it.

0 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 It works every time and takes a minute or so to r emember .

Try finding any scale picking any note to start with.

Minor scales: Use the above r ules and the following f or mula to find all the

minor scales: 02122122.

Now f or the best par t!

How to play all the most im por tant chords without having to remember how

to play them all. And remember, count all the notes including the black ones but

not the Root note.

Major chords

Ma jor chords are always wr itten like this: C, D, Bb, and E. They are not wr itten as

Cmajor etc.

Let's start with C again: For mula: 4 + 3

The name of the chord is always the ‘R oot’ note.

Always count up the keyboard to the r ight/higher notes and not down.

C is the root note. Count 4 which takes us to the E, then count 3 which takes us to

the G. So C + E + G is the C chor d.

Now try E b.

Eb is the Root note. Count 4 which takes us to the G. Now 3 which takes us to the

B b.

So - Eb + G + Bb - is the Eb chord. And there you have it.



7thChor ds.

For mula: 4 + 3 + 3. (4-note 7th. chord). (Ma jor chord f or mula + 3).

C7: Root note C + 4 is E + 3 is G + 3 is Bb. (C + E + + G + Bb) 4-note chor d.

D7: Root note D + 4 = F# + 3 is A + 3 is C (D + F# + A + C)

So, with the Ma jor and Minor chords just add 3 to the count to get a 7th Chor d.

Usually wr itten C7 and Cmin7

Ther e is another 7th

. Chord you will often come across. It is the Ma jor 7th.

E.G. CM7 – CMa j7

This is a nor mal chord but you need to add 4 instead of 3 to get a Ma jor seventh.

E.G. C7 = C + E + G + Bb. C Ma jor 7 = C + E + G + B. And the same a pplies to all

Ma jor Seventh chords. 4 + 3 + 4

Minor chords. F#min

For mula: 3 + 4.

Let's start with F# minor .

F# is Home note: Plus 3 is A + 4 is C#. (F# + A + C#)

Ab minor . Ab is the Root note. Plus 3 is B + 4 is E b. (Ab + B + E b)

N.B: Ma jor and minor chords are usually always tr iads - 3-note chords. Seventh

chords should always be 4-note chords to give them de pth.

To change a dominant chord into a minor just lower the second note - within the

f or mula - one half step. (Semitone).

C = C + E + G. The second note is E so lower it a half step to E b.



C minor = C+E b+F.

G = G + B + D. The second note is B so one half step back takes it to B b.

G minor = G+B b+D.

Minor 7th.

For mula: 3+4+3. (Minor f or mula + 3).

D minor 7th. Dmin7

D is the root note: Plus 3 is F + 4 is A +3 is C. (D + F + A +C). (The inver sion of

CDFA may be easier for you to play as below).

Most songs can be played using only the major, minor and seventh chor ds.

Ther e is also a minor Ma jor 7. Cmin/Ma j7

Use the same r ules as before. Minor chord f or mula: 3 + 4. Now add 4 and you get a

minor /Ma jor 7th.

Diminished Chords. (o = dim).

For mula: 3+3. Usually wr itten G o, or Gdim

Gdim: G is the Root note + 3 = Bb + Db. (G + Bb + D b).

Augmented chords. (aug) (Usually wr itten +, or aug)

For mula: 4 + 4.

B+: (aug)

B is the Root note + 4 = Eb + 4 = G. (B + Eb + G).

To get a Diminished or Augmented 7th

. Just add 3, or add 4 to get Ma jor 7th.



Suspended or Sustained chor ds.

A suspended (Sus), sometimes called a Sustained, is a chord in which the thir d is

r e placed by either a perfect fourth or a major second, but the fourth is far mor e

common. This type of chord is more common in country music but still wor th

k nowing a bout.

Sus2: 1st, 2

ndand 5

thnotes of the scale.

Sus4: 1st, 4

thand 5

th notes of the scale

Csus2 would be C + D + G.

For mula: Root + 2 + 5.

Csus4 would be C + F + G.

For mula: Root + 5 + 2

Simply remember to play the f ir st, second and fifth note within any scale to find a

Sus2, and the f ir st, fourth and fifth note to find a Sus4.

Now yo u have f or mulas for just about every chord you will need to play on your

keyboard. Ther e are other chords such as 9th

, 13th

etc, but you will r ar ely need

them when playing po pular music. However, with a little ex per imentation, you can

f igur e those out for your self .

6TH Chords:

To find a 6th chord such as Cmaj6 just add two semitones/steps instead of 3 as with a 7 th chord.



Ther e are, of course, inver sions to all the chords which you can easily work out f or

your self . Any com binations of each chord will work on a keyboard. You sim ply

choose the one which works best for you, or is easier for you to play. Sometimes

you will not be a ble to play a par ticular inver sion as it might go beyond the 'S plit'

point on your keyboard. For exam ple, I cannot play Bb7 on my keyboard in the f ir st

mode as it goes past my s plit point which is the F below Middle C. So I play the

inver sion: F, A b, Bb, D. The ‘S plit Point’ is the note which separates the melody

area from the chord ar ea.

We are discussing here only the most widely used chords. The mor e

ex per ienced you become with your playing the less you'll need the f or mulas. But

heh! If these f or mulas hel p you remember your chords use them all the time.

Have you noticed that the Ma jor , Minor , 7th, augmented and Diminished chor ds

all have a f or mula containing com binations of only two numbers? 3 and 4.

Ther e is a pr int-out of all the f or mulas for you to use at the end of this book let, and

there is also a Chord chart. Always include the root note other wise you will get the

wrong chor d.

Why play full chords when one finger will do the same jo b?

This is a question that many peo ple ask. With the lik es of Casio and Yamaha you

can sim ply play a chord by using one f inger but this can sometimes pr oduce

pr o blems. With these keyboards you will get instr uctions on how to play a seventh

chord with two f inger s. However, not all keyboards use the same method. So, if

you suddenly have to play a diff er ent keyboard you may be stum ped.

Lik e most keyboard player s there is always a desir e to play piano. Now, you sim ply

cannot play chord piano by using only single notes. It would not sound good at all.



You will always need at least two, three or four notes in the accom paniment to make

your playing sound acce pta ble. Also, you cannot play ar peggios unless you know

chords. An Ar peggio is sim ply playing each note of the chord one af ter the other .

Another good reason for not r elying on one-f inger chords is that you cannot play

a minor , 7th, diminished, augmented or major 7

thchord with just one f inger .

Built-in accom paniment is very clever but it cannot read your mind. The k ey boar d

will always seek out the correct chord r elative to your f inger ing. For exam ple; if you

place your f inger s on E + G + C it will play the C chor d.

If you place your f inger s on G + C + E it will still play the C chord. And the

same a pplies if you place your f inger s on just the G + C. However, if you place your

f inger s on just the C + A it will play an A minor chord. To play any chord other than

a major you will have to use at least two notes.

To play a C minor you will have to place your f inger s on C + Eb. To play a C7

you will have to place your f inger s on C + Bb. To play any 7th

or Ma jor 7th

chor d

always play the root and last note of that chord. To find any Minor always use the

f ir st and second note of that chor d

. Unf or tunately the above r ules do not a pply to Augmented or Diminished chor ds.

If you played C + Eb you will get a C minor chord as these two notes are the f ir st

two of the C minor chord and also the f ir st two notes of the C augmented. You will

have to use three notes to play the diminished and augmented chords. So, may be

you now understand why playing chords with just one f inger is not such a good

idea. Actually, you will pr o ba bly find it much easier to play full chords, once you get

used to them, as it can be easier to move from one chord to the other rather than

tr ying to get one f inger to fall onto the r ight note each time when you change f r om

chord to chor d.



How to work out which key the music is in.

Do you look at a piece of music and, when you see a few sharps or f lats, have a

pr o blem with r emem ber ing which key it is in? Well, there is a very easy way to

f igur e it out. Have a look at the sketch below. What key is it in?

Okay. This is how you f igur e out the k ey:

The f ir st sketch shows four f lats. Look at the f lat f ur thest to the r ight. It is D f lat.

Now, on your keyboard, count back from D f lat five ste ps/semitones. Count all the

black and white keys. You should be on Ab. And that is the key. It doesn’t matter

how many f lats there are it works every time. Always count back five steps f r om

the f lat f ur thest to the r ight on your piece of music. Method 2: This is the easiest

way: find the f lat f ur thest to the r ight, go back one f lat and that is the key. One f lat,

Bb, is in the key of F. Look at the sketch below with six shar ps.

The sharp f ur thest to the r ight is E sharp. This f or mula is easier . Count f or war d

only one ste p/semitone from the sharp f ur thest to the r ight, in this case E shar p,

and that will be the key. E sharp plus one step takes you to F sharp which is the

key. The same f or mula a pplies to any key with sharps in it. Just count one ste p

forward from the last sharp to the r ight.

Ther e is a chart at the end of this book showing all the k eys.



Now for the scales.

Ar e scales im por tant? Yes they are. Until you know your scales you will never

become an accom plished musician, and you will limit your own progress and

enjoyment. A bout 98% of songs will use only the notes relative to the key it is

wr itten in. So if you know the scale of a par ticular piece of music you will also k now

which notes you will be playing in that song. Before attem pting to play a song, which

you are not f amiliar with, it is a good idea to pr actice the scale f ir st. By doing so

you are actually playing the notes to that song, but not necessar ily in the r ight

order. Pr acticing scales will give your f inger s dexter ity and speed up your ability to

find the r ight notes in a song. Here is another good reason to know your scales: If

you know the scale/k ey of a par ticular song you can find which chords to play using

a sim ple f or mula.

Finding chords from scales.

You may come across a piece of music which does not show which chords to

play piano music is nor mally like this, but you’d like to play it on your k ey boar d.

So, how do you f igur e out which chords to play? Quite sim ple, r eally. Ther e are

three dominant chords in each scale based on the 1st. 4th. and 5th. notes in that

scale. If you played only the three main chords in each song you’ll play to an

acce pta ble level, but your playing would sound a lot better if you also played minor

and seventh chords. Also, you should ex per iment by inver ting the chords to see if

you get a more pleasur a ble sound; although this doesn’t a pply when playing built-in

accom paniment. Ma jor chords always sound better when inver ted and not in the

root position. Inver sions are sim ply playing the notes of the chord in a diff er ent

order. E.G: Bb7 = Bb + D + F + A b. So you can inver t it to F + Ab + Bb + D. Also,

this is easier to play. This, of course, r eally only a pplies when you are playing piano



style. When counting the notes in a scale, for the 1st.4th.and 5th notes, the r oot

note is counted as 1. So, in the scale of C, the f ir st chord (Note 1) would be C

major, the second chord (Note 4) would be F major and the thir d chord (Note 5)

would be G major. As a beginner I used to work out the Key (scale) I would be

playing in (2212221) wr ite it at the top of the page, and then I would wr ite the

For mula along side it.

So the top of my page would look like this:

Key = G. (G A B C D E F# G). For mula 4 + 3. Main chords = G, B and C. If I missed

a chord I would sim ply play one of the three main chords for that scale and usually

got away with it, but not always. NB. You should always try to play a chord which

has the melody note in it. But you do need to know your scales before you can

work this out.

Pr actice at least one scale each time you sit at your keyboard. Fir st with your

r ight hand, and then with your lef t. Try r unning up and down the keyboard. This is

a good warm-up exer cise for your hands. This will also speed up your ability to

find the r ight notes when you are sight r eading.



Chor d chart with f or mulas.

Major

Root note + 4 + 3

7th.

Root note + 4 + 3 + 3

Minor.

Root note +3 + 4

Major 7th.

Root note + 4 + 3 + 4

Minor 7th.

Root note

+ 3 + 4 + 3

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

Ab

Bb

Eb

C#

F#

These are the most widely used chords. Some have been inverted for ease of playing.

The next chart contains the most widely used Augmented and Diminished chor ds.



Augmented and diminished chor ds.

Augmented = Aug or +

Root note + 4 + 4 Diminished = Dim or o

Root note + 3 + 3

Add three to the

count to make a 7th.

to Dim or Aug

chord.

Some of the chords

have been inver ted

for ease of playing.

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

Ab

Bb

Eb

C#

F#

Try inverting some of the chor ds.



K eys and scales.

C D

E F

G A

B Cb

C# Db

Eb F#

Gb Ab

Bb

To find the Key when you see 'sharps'/# count one step/semitone up from the last sharp on the right.

To find the Key when you see 'flats'/b count back five steps/semitones to the left from the last flat on

the right. Alternatively, apart from one flat –

Bb –

which is in the key of F, look at the flat immediately tothe left of the last flat to the right and that is the key. Practice at least one scale every day.



Here are all the formulas mentioned.

Chor ds.

Ma jor : Root note + 4 + 3

Minor : Root note + 3 + 4

Seventh: + 3 to the two f or mulas a bove.

Ma jor 7th

: Root note +4 + 3 + 4

Minor 7th: Root note + 3 +4 + 3

Minor /Ma jor 7th

: Root note + 3 + 4 + 4

Augmented: Root note + 4 + 4*

Diminished: Root note + 3 + 3*

*Add + 3 for 7th

to the two f or mulas a bove.

Suspended chor ds: Sus2 = Root + 2 + 5. Sus4 = Root + 5 + 2.S

Scales f or mula.

Ma jor scale: Root note plus 2212221

Minor scale: Root note plus 2122122

Finding the k ey.

K eys with sharps: Find the sharp f ur thest to the r ight and go up one ste p/semitone.

K eys with f lats: Find the f lat f ur thest to the r ight and go back five ste ps/semitones.

Alter natively, the f lat immediately to the lef t of the last f lat on the r ight is the k ey.

One f lat – Bb – is in the key of F.



Remember this!

Don’t be worr ied about sharps and f lats. Most songs use only the notes to the

k ey/scale the song is wr itten in. When you come across a song you haven’t played

before always work out the key, and pr actice the scale of that key sever al times

before you play the song.

Try to pr actice at least one scale every day for a cou ple of minutes. You’ll be

sur pr ised how many times you can play a scale in two minutes. In the end you’ll be

pleased you did.

Another ti p! With a song you are not f amiliar with, study it before attem pting to

play. Find the key, pr actice the scale and play each of the chords wr itten to

f amiliar ize your self with the song. So that, when you play the song, it will be lik e

you alr eady know it.

Well, that’s about it. You now have enough inf or mation to be a ble to pr ogr ess

r a pidly on your keyboard. I hope you found all the f or mulas usef ul. Good luck with

your playing and don’t f or get, keep pr acticing.

Ever ything is hard before it becomes easy.

Co pyr ight 2008: Maur ice S. Ellis

music keyboard master

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