‘Music notes are the alphabet and chords are words’ by Piano Comics

When I start teaching intervals and chords in my piano and music theory classes I want kids to feel the importance and richness of the harmony that chords create. Chords are not just an addition to our piano scales or a new exercise on our score sheet. It is the beginning of understanding what harmony is, or better, how harmony sounds and what an essential role it plays in music. It is the realization that there is a ‘music home’ where all songs, pieces, melodies live. In that base/house, all music starts from and ends up in.

So I give examples with something that even young beginners are familiar with. The alphabet. The letters of the alphabet are the music notes. Kids already from their first piano lessons have played some keys and start learning how to recognize and read those ‘letters’ ( notes ) in the scores. And what do letters create when we pair them together? Syllables. And syllables? Words. Same with music. When we play two notes together we create an interval. An interval is already a bit more advanced a creation. A bit richer in the music cloth. With an interval we create a syllable. Have your students play some intervals, melodic ( one key at a time, then the second one ) , harmonic ( play 2 keys at the same time ), going up ( lower key first, higher last ) and going down. I like to play semitones and tones after I teach them what an interval means and have them guess acoustically these first intervals. In my next blog I will explain in detail and examples how I teach semitones and tones and how students, even young piano beginners, can recognize these intervals acoustically and start building aural skills.

When students have played several scales and have built some dexterity and independence with their fingers I show them the basic chord for each scale. But I don’t just leave it for scales because as soon as they start building those first chords I demonstrate in their pieces and create a basic chord in the beginning and one in the end ( even if the scores have just one key at the end) . Then ask them how does that sound in comparison with what they played in the scores? Or play for them ‘Jingle Bells’ with a one key accompaniment in the left hand and then with bouncing chords. Then ask which one sounds ‘better’ or more alive, which one they would prefer… They all choose the accompaniment with the chords because it sounds ‘more fun’, ‘more correct’, ‘familiar’. So now, we have created words ( chords ) with our alphabet ( music keys ) and music becomes more interesting, meaningful.

Whenever I teach something new in my piano lessons about music theory I always try and give relatable examples to my students. Right away, with their pieces, with some well-known or favourite songs I will collate them to any meaning, example, principle kids have tasted, known, learned through life. If I can make an example funny, sarcastic or humoristic, that will have an even better result because learning with fun is learning that lasts.

note 1: when students play the chords in their scales I have them listen to the sound these three keys create as if they are literally diving inside an ocean. They can even hold the chord as long as they like and listen to how the sound is flowing and vibrating in the sounding board.

note 2: with beginners I avoid the technical term of a chord ( to have at least 3 keys which are an interval of a 3rd apart ) and just have them observe, feel how rich the sound is and how it resonates with a melody.