In this article, you'll learn what chords can make your piano playing sound rich when playing standards from the Great American Songbook. Watch Diana's Instructional Video Demonstrating How to Use 4-note Chords to Make Your Solo Piano Playing Sound Super
The Four Important Chords that Make All the Difference
When playing standards from the Great American Songbook, you need to go beyond the triads of C, F/C, Am, Em, G7, etc. The chords you need have four notes in them. It is the fourth note that provides the richness.
Here's the difference:
C (C-E-G) becomes Cmaj7 (C-E-G-B) or C6 (C-E-G-A)
Dm (D-F-A) becomes Dm7 (D-F-A-C)
G7 (B-F-G) becomes G7/D (D-F-G-B)
Putting Four Note Chords into an Effective Pattern
Although you have probably played many songs with um-pah patterns using three note chords, the four note chords work even more effectively as they accompany the standards.
Cmaj7 C6 | Dm7 G7/D | BECOME:
Cmaj7 um (C) pah (E-G-B) C6 um (C) pah (E-G-A)| Dm7 um (D) pah (F-A-C) G7/B um D pah (F-G-B)
Practice the Left-Hand Accompaniment First
If you want to make your music sound even as you keep the beat, you need to practice your left hand accompaniment by itself. In addition, using a metronome can help you gain confidence while ensuring that you are keeping a solid beat. Once your left hand is solid, add the right hand melody. It may seem awkward at first, but once you get both hands working together, you'll be one your way.
Raise the Right-hand Melody One Octave
Most piano students find that playing in the octave above middle C is tricky and a bit uncomfortable. It's really just a matter of getting used to the placement of your fingers on the keyboard. But the REASON you need to do this is because your left-hand chords need to be high enough to be resonant rather than muddy. The rule for left-hand chord placement is that your pinky (bottom note of the chord) should be no lower than the Bb one octave below middle C and the pinky (bottom note of the the chord) should be no higher than middle C. If you follow this rule, your chords will always sound their best AND you will not bump the lower right-hand melody notes with the top notes of the left hand chords.
Here are Diana's arrangements of Getting to Know You and On the Sunny Side of the Street using the oom-pah pattern. These included in the video below. Getting to Know You
Here's how Diana plays four-note chords with the oom-pah pattern in four standards:
Diana Mascari-Piano Teacher for Adults
Diana Mascari has taught piano to hundreds of students for more than 46 years. She is dedicated to enriching her students’ lives by supporting their individual musicality.
She has developed a teaching system called the Transformational Approach to Piano (TAP System). It offers her students colorful musical insights that broaden their experience beyond traditional methods.
Diana holds two Masters of Music degrees from New England Conservatory, taught keyboard harmony to music majors at Boston University, and was the music director of a multicultural Presbyterian Church for four decades.
Diana has performed as a solo jazz pianist as well as with her ensembles at many colleges and jazz clubs throughout New England. Many of these performances featured Diana's jazz compositions.
As a composer, she has explored the intersection of jazz and classical music. Her compositions reflect her deep appreciation for musical structure, enhanced by the spontaneity and emotion of jazz. Each piece has a timeless sense and is designed to move and inspire. Her works have been performed in Europe, Japan and the Eastern United States.
Diana’s vibrant personality infuses her teaching, performing and composing as she inspires piano students to achieve their musical goals.
To Get Her FREE Course: Accompaniment Styles to Energize Your Piano Playing, click here
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