{"id":167,"date":"2019-05-07T07:54:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T14:54:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-01-10T10:56:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T18:56:32","slug":"improvising-melodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/improvising-melodies\/","title":{"rendered":"Improvising Beautiful Melodies On The Piano"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today I\u2019m going to share a secret. My secret to improvising beautiful melodies on the piano. This quick tip actually came about by request. Some of our recent videos have focused on the left hand, and people wanted to know, \u201cwhat do I play in the right hand to make it sound beautiful?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I\u2019m here to tell you!  I\u2019m here to give you my secrets, and the first secret is: It\u2019s super simple.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improvising a beautiful melody does not have to be complicated, and you don\u2019t have to have years of experience to try this. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are going to play a simple chord progression in our left hand, staying in the key of A minor. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The progression will be: Am F G Em. We\u2019ll just play fifths in the bass.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s begin!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip # 1<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best and easiest way to start is to just play the root note of the chord in our right hand and follow the progression. This helps us to get in the mindset and really understand and get comfortable with the progression we are going to play. There\u2019s nothing scary about this.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip # 2<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now we are going to explore chord tones. Chord tones are just the notes that make up the chord. We\u2019ll start simply by playing the root and the third of the chord that we are on. So for Am, that\u2019s an A and a C. For F it\u2019s an F and an A and so on\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can take that a step further by playing the third and the fifth of the chord. So we let our left hand play the root note, and our right-hand plays the third and the fifth. So for Am our right hand would play C and E. The best thing about using chord tones is that these notes are guaranteed to sound good together. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip # 3<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to be a little braver and explore a little bit more. Instead of playing only chord tones, we are going to use the first five notes of the chord that we are in.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while we do this, we still need to make sure that we are keeping all of the notes within the key signature of the song. For this example, we are in A minor. A minor has no black keys, so our E minor tones will be E, F, G, A, B. We do NOT play F# because it\u2019s not in A minor.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip # 4<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now we are going to branch out even more and play ANY of the notes in ANY order that belongs in A minor scale. This is a real process of trial and error. Some notes will sound better than others, but it\u2019s all up to you as to what you think sounds good. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the time to really explore, and be willing to forgive yourself if you play something you don\u2019t like.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Thought<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this example we are in the key of A minor, so all the white keys are safe. If you are playing this in a different key, you\u2019ll need to make sure you pay attention to what sharps and flats are in the key. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improvisation can be scary, and nobody wants to sound bad, but the best way to improve your improvisation skills is to practice and allow yourself to make mistakes. By finding out what doesn\u2019t work, you will also find out what DOES. And you take that and apply it to make beautiful melodies.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good luck!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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