Have you ever found yourself really unmotivated to sit down and practice the piano?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ve all been there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know you SHOULD practice, but actually bringing yourself to sit down at the keys and follow-through becomes a real chore. I know I’ve been through periods of weeks (and even months) where I just didn’t feel like practicing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the longer I waited, the harder it got to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can’t rely on motivation, because motivation fades. And willpower often only gets us so far before it eventually runs out as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I have found it’s helpful to employ some “trickiness” to get me to the piano. I tell myself I’m only going to play for a few minutes, and I’m only going to play something that sounds AMAZING so I’ll feel good while I play it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you know what? Most of the time once I start I end up continuing into a proper practice session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how can you do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chord progression you’ll use is very easy (only 4 chords) but it sounds beautiful. There’s nothing daunting about it and you’ll be creating beautiful music immediately, so you get that lovely reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chords are Am – G – C – F<\/strong>. I’m showing this in the key of C major, so those chords represent the 6-5-1-4<\/strong> progression. If you’d like to try it in a more challenging key that’s great, but this is all about motivating yourself to practice so I find keeping it easy is often better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playing 4 simple chords over and over again isn’t going to inspire anyone to practice more, so we need to add a melody for the right hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a simple melody that involves playing the 1st, 2nd and 5th notes of the chord you’re playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s break that down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the Am chord, you’ll play the notes A – G – E (A is the 1st note, G is the 2nd and E is the 5th).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the G chord, you’ll play G – A – D. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The C chord will be C – D – G.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for the F chord, you’ll play F – G – C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Play around with that for a while. Already it sounds musical and lovely, and it’s so easy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you can do that without looking, you can add another level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try experimenting with different patterns in the right hand. Keep the notes the same (the 1-2-5) but play them up AND down. Try swapping the order around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you really want to get more complex, you can try playing broken 5ths with your left hand, and even try some arpeggios by playing the root – 5th – octave pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever you decide to try, the important thing is that you’re at the piano, playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’re doing it! And hopefully, this simple melody and chord progression will inspire you to keep playing and keep practicing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut this is more than just chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Change the patterns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n