{"id":4048,"date":"2021-06-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=4048"},"modified":"2024-02-15T08:33:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:33:09","slug":"piano-music-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-music-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Piano Music Theory That&#8217;s Actually Useful!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If piano music theory makes you frustrated, you&#8217;re not alone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Music theory can be a very dense, very complex subject. After all, people do entire post-graduate degrees in this stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But piano music theory doesn&#8217;t have to be complicated to be <em>useful<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, we&#8217;ll show you piano music theory you can use starting <em>today<\/em>. Theory that actually helps you play your favorite music on the piano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And guess what? <strong>You don&#8217;t even need to know how to read music.<\/strong> In this lesson, we&#8217;ll cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#scales\">How to Build Any Major or Minor Scale<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#chords\">How to Build Any Major or Minor Chord<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#progression\">The One Chord Progression That Unlocks Thousands of Songs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#rhythm\">How to Understand Rhythm<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#songs\">How to Use Scales, Chords, Progressions, and Rhythm to Play Songs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Ready? Let&#8217;s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Learn Piano For Free<\/b><\/h2><p>Inspiring tutorials. Fascinating articles. Exclusive interviews. We create piano content anyone, anywhere can enjoy for free. Don&#8217;t miss out, sign up for more free lessons.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><small><i>By signing up you\u2019ll also receive our ongoing free lessons and special offers. Don\u2019t worry, we value your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.<\/i><\/small><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"scales\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>How to Build Any Major or Minor Scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is it important to know your scales? Because understanding scales helps you understand keys. And most songs use chords that are built on the notes of a particular scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While you don&#8217;t need to know how to read music to benefit from this post, it will help to know the names of the notes on your keyboard. Feel free to refer to this diagram (note that black keys have two possible names):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/labelled%20keyboard%20with%20flats%20and%20sharps.png\" alt=\"Diagram of two-octave keyboard labelled with note names.\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">How to Build a Major Scale in Any Key<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Major keys (such as G major, E flat major, or F sharp major) sound &#8220;happy.&#8221; They&#8217;re likely the first type of key or scale you&#8217;ll learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:53%;position:relative;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/wtHolvfjB1ToI\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"position:absolute\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/dj-khaled-grammys-2016-major-key-wtHolvfjB1ToI\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Each key has its own character. For example, C major has no sharps or flats, but B flat major has two flats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To figure out how many sharps or flats a major key has, there are formulas you can learn such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-music-theory-circle-of-fifths\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Circle of Fifths<\/a>. However, if you know the major scale formula that underlies <em>every<\/em> major scale, you only have to memorize ONE thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the formula:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>W &#8211; W &#8211; H &#8211; W &#8211; W &#8211; W &#8211; H<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ws mean <strong>whole-step<\/strong> and the Hs mean <strong>half-step<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong>half step<\/strong> \u2014 also called a <em>semitone<\/em> \u2014 is the distance between one key on the piano to the one immediately next to it. For example, C to C sharp (the black key just right of C) is a half step. E to F (two white keys right next to each other) are also half steps from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/half%20steps.png\" alt=\"Diagram of piano keyboard with half step between E and F and half-step between F# and G highlighted in red.\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A <strong>whole step<\/strong> \u2014 also called a <em>whole tone<\/em> \u2014 is made up of two half-steps. For example, C and D is a whole step apart because a black key (C sharp or D flat) is the half step between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s how you build the G major scale using this formula:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<p><video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/g%20major%20-%20steps2%20-%20compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice that going from E to F sharp \u2014 a white key to a black key \u2014 is a whole step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we put everything together, the G major scale looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>G &#8211; A &#8211; B &#8211; C &#8211; D &#8211; E &#8211; F# &#8211; G<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">How to Build a Minor Scale in Any Key<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Minor keys sound a little moody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similar to major scales, you can build any natural minor scale in any key using a formula of whole and half tones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>W &#8211; H &#8211; W &#8211; W &#8211; H &#8211; W &#8211; W<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;But you can get away with not memorizing this formula if you understand relative minor and major keys. Every major key has a relative minor key and vice versa. Relative keys use the same notes and the same number of sharps and flats; they just have different starting points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">How to Find Relative Keys<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to find the relative minor key of a major key, simply count down three half-steps. If you want to find the relative major key of a minor key, count up three half-steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<p><video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/relative%20minor-compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To find the relative minor key of G major, start on G.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Count down three half steps from G. You&#8217;ll land on E.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>G major has 1 sharp (F sharp). Therefore, so does E minor!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>So, E minor is just G major except you start and end on E.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>E &#8211; F# &#8211; G &#8211; A &#8211; B &#8211; C &#8211; D &#8211; E<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">\ud83d\udca5 BONUS! Types of Minor Scales<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You may have heard that there are different types of minor scales:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>natural minor scale<\/strong> uses this formula, up and down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>harmonic minor scale<\/strong> raises the seventh note of the scale up and down. For example, in A minor, G (the seventh note of A minor) is sharped.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>melodic minor scale<\/strong> raises the sixth and seventh note when you go up the scale, then un-raises (naturals) those notes on the way down. For example, in A minor, we play F sharp and G sharp on the way up and play those notes natural (without any sharps) on the way down.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>To play songs with chord progressions, understanding natural minor scales should be enough. But knowing other types of minor scales may help you craft <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/riffs-and-fills\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">riffs and fills<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&gt; For a deeper dive into scales, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-scales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Piano Scales: Types of Scales and How to Apply Them<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h3 style=\"font-size: 22px;\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 For Piano Players, By Piano Players<\/b><\/h3><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/25133330\/anand-practicing-on-casio-1024x683.jpg\"><p>Love more guides like this? Subscribe to <i>The Note<\/i> for more quick tips, cheat sheets, explainers, and other stuff piano players love. Delivered to your inbox for free.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"chords\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>How to Build Any Major or Minor Triad<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong>triad<\/strong> is a three-note chord and is one of the first chords you&#8217;ll learn on the piano. They&#8217;re also incredibly useful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using whole steps and half-steps, you can also build major triads and minor triads in any key using these formulas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161017\/major-triad-formula-1024x563.png\" alt=\"C major triad diagram with half steps labelled and keys highlighted in red.\" class=\"wp-image-13422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161017\/major-triad-formula-1024x563.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161017\/major-triad-formula-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161017\/major-triad-formula-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161017\/major-triad-formula.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161024\/minor-triad-formula-1024x563.png\" alt=\"C minor triad diagram with half steps labelled and keys highlighted in red.\" class=\"wp-image-13423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161024\/minor-triad-formula-1024x563.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161024\/minor-triad-formula-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161024\/minor-triad-formula-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/28161024\/minor-triad-formula.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Play these triads with your 1, 3, and 5 finger. We like to call this shape &#8220;the Claw.&#8221; If it feels funky at first, don&#8217;t worry. That&#8217;s normal. The more you practice, the more natural this chord shape will feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Diatonic Chords<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now try moving the same 1-3-5 claw shape up the G major scale. In other words, build a triad on top of every note of the G major scale. You&#8217;ll end up building the following chords. If you&#8217;re wondering why there&#8217;s an F sharp \u2014 remember, we&#8217;re in G major and G major has one sharp, F!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Scale Degree<\/th><th>Notes in Triad<\/th><th>Name of Chord<\/th><th>Chord Symbol<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1<\/td><td>G-B-D<\/td><td>G major triad<\/td><td>G<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>A-C-E<\/td><td>A minor triad<\/td><td>Am<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>B-D-F#<\/td><td>B minor triad<\/td><td>Bm<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>C-E-G<\/td><td>C major triad<\/td><td>C<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>D-F#-A<\/td><td>D major triad<\/td><td>D<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>E-G-B<\/td><td>E minor triad<\/td><td>Em<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>F#-A-C<\/td><td>F# diminished triad<\/td><td>F#dim<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The small &#8220;m&#8221; means these chords are minor chords and will sound moodier. Don&#8217;t worry too much about the F#dim chord for now \u2014 it&#8217;s just a minor chord where the distance between F# and C is less than a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/understanding-piano-intervals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">perfect fifth<\/a>; therefore, &#8220;diminished.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you can do this, it means <strong>you&#8217;ve found <em>every <\/em>major and minor chord in the G major scale.<\/strong> This unlocks many, many songs in G major! So, congrats!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fancy word for these types of chords is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/diatonic-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">diatonic chords<\/a><\/strong>. We also have a more detailed lesson on building diatonic chords <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/chord-formula\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"progression\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>The 1-5-6-4 Chord Progression<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/pop-piano-chord-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1-5-6-4 chord progression<\/a> is one of the most common chord progressions in modern Western music. Once you know it, you basically have the ingredients to play <em>every pop song ever written<\/em>. No, I&#8217;m not kidding \u2014 in fact, this exact same progression is used in &#8220;Someone You Loved&#8221; by Lewis Capaldi (check out a tutorial on how to play that song <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/someone-you-loved\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1-5-6-4 progression is simply building chords (like we did in the previous section) on the first, fifth, sixth, and fourth note of the scale. In G major, this will be G major &gt; D major &gt; E minor &gt; C major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>G &#8211; D &#8211; Em &#8211; C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">\ud83d\udca5 BONUS! Nashville Numbering System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>People sometimes write this in Roman numerals, with the lowercase letters representing a minor chord:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>I &#8211; V &#8211; vi &#8211; IV<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is called the <strong>Nashville Numbering System<\/strong> and it&#8217;s useful to learn because it lets you transpose a song into any key. You can learn more about this system <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/the-number-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"rhythm\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Rhythm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rhythm sometimes gets shoved to the side among us pianists, but it&#8217;s an important part of music-making and you should understand the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take &#8220;Someone You Loved.&#8221; Hum and tap to the beat of &#8220;Someone You Loved&#8221; and you&#8217;ll find that it fits into this counting scheme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\">1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is called 4\/4 or &#8220;common&#8221; time. In sheet music, it&#8217;s written out like this: 4\/4. The top four means that in each measure, there are four beats. The bottom four means that a quarter note takes one beat.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/time%20signatures.png\" alt=\"3\/4 time signature and 4\/4 time signature with words: Top Number = how many beats within a measure; Bottom number = the note value.\" style=\"width:670px;height:202px\" width=\"670\" height=\"202\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>This is how many beats each type of note is &#8220;worth&#8221; in 4\/4 time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Quarter note:<\/strong> 1 beat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Half note: <\/strong>2 beats<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dotted half note:<\/strong> 3 beats<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Whole note: <\/strong>4 beats<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is what those notes look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/beats.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if we play &#8220;Someone You Loved&#8221; in quarter notes in 4\/4 time, this is the rhythm we play:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/quarter%20note%20counting.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at this in action!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/quarter%20note%20counting%20-%20compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p>Here&#8217;s me chording a song in quarter notes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/half%20notes%20chording%20-%20compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p>And here&#8217;s chording in half notes!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Music%20Theory%20That%27s%20Actually%20Useful\/chording%20-%20whole%20notes.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p>Finally, here&#8217;s me chording with whole notes \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"songs\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Putting It All Together: Use These Piano Theory Tips Every Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Music is made up of different ingredients \ud83e\uddd1\u200d\ud83c\udf73 such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Scales<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chords<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chord progressions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rhythm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you know these ingredients well, you can make a song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Use these ingredients in different keys<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, songs are often in different keys, but if you understand the scale formula, you can make a scale in any key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, once you have that scale, use it to make chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Then<\/em>, use those chords to make a chord progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;And <em>then<\/em>, mix up the rhythm to create your own unique song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope this piano music theory lesson is helpful. If you want a more in-depth look at how music theory works, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/music-theory-rhythm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Music Theory for the Dropouts<\/a> or our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-read-notes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Read Notes<\/a> tutorial. Happy practicing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"tve-leads-shortcode tve-leads-triggered tve-tl-anim tl-anim-instant tve-leads-track-shortcode_16124\"><div class=\"tl-style\" id=\"tve_tcb2_blank\" data-state=\"50\" data-form-state=\"\"><style type=\"text\/css\" class=\"tve_custom_style\">@import url(\"\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css?family=Bebas+Neue:400&subset=latin\");@import url(\"\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css?family=Open+Sans:400,400i,700,700i,600,600i,800,500&subset=latin\");@media (min-width: 300px){[data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f2c\"]{--tve-border-radius: 6px;overflow: hidden;border-radius: 6px !important;background-color: rgb(255,228,230) !important;--background-color: rgb(255,228,230) !important;--tve-applied-background-color: rgb(255,228,230) !important;background-image: none !important;--background-image: none !important;--tve-applied-background-image: none !important;margin-bottom: 1px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}[data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f2e\"]{margin-bottom: 10px 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h3{margin:0;padding:0}.tve-leads-conversion-object .thrv_text_element p,.tve-leads-conversion-object .thrv_text_element h1,.tve-leads-conversion-object .thrv_text_element h2,.tve-leads-conversion-object .thrv_text_element h3{margin:0}<\/style><div class=\"tve-leads-conversion-object\" data-tl-type=\"shortcode_16124\"><div class=\"tve_flt\"><div id=\"tve_editor\" class=\"tve_shortcode_editor\"><div class=\"thrv-leads-form-box tve_no_drag tve_no_icons thrv_wrapper tve_editor_main_content thrv-leads-in-content tve_empty_dropzone\" style=\"--tve-border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 6px !important;\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f2c\"><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_contentbox_shortcode thrv-content-box tve-elem-default-pad\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f2e\" style=\"\"><div class=\"tve-content-box-background\"><\/div><div class=\"tve-cb\"><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f2f\"><h3 class=\"\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f30\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Join the Musora Family<\/b><\/h3><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f32\" style=\"\"><p data-css=\"tve-u-18c41a11f33\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Your musical journey starts today: try Pianote and get access to drum, vocal, and guitar lessons too!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv-button thrv-button-v2 tcb-local-vars-root tve_ea_thrive_animation tve_anim_grow\" data-button-style=\"btn-tpl-58447\" data-tcb_hover_state_parent=\"\" data-button-size-d=\"s\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c4af06ae7\" style=\"\"><div class=\"thrive-colors-palette-config\" style=\"display: none !important\"><\/div>\t\t<a href=\"\/trial\" class=\"tcb-button-link tcb-plain-text tve_evt_manager_listen tve_et_tve-viewport\" style=\"\" target=\"_blank\" data-tcb-events=\"__TCB_EVENT_[{&quot;t&quot;:&quot;tve-viewport&quot;,&quot;config&quot;:{&quot;anim&quot;:&quot;grow&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:1},&quot;a&quot;:&quot;thrive_animation&quot;}]_TNEVE_BCT__\">\t\t<span class=\"tcb-button-texts\" style=\"\"><span class=\"tcb-button-text thrv-inline-text\" style=\"\" data-css=\"tve-u-18c4af1a3bb\">Try Pianote for 7 Days<\/span><span class=\"tcb-secondary-text thrv-inline-text tve-froala fr-box fr-basic\" style=\"\"><\/span><\/span>\t<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A no-nonsense guide to piano music theory you can actually use. Build scales, build chords, understand rhythm, and play songs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":4101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510],"tags":[1133],"class_list":["post-4048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theory","tag-survey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4048"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16637,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048\/revisions\/16637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}