Have you ever gone to a nice restaurant or a mall and heard a pianist playing beautifully without any sheet music at all? She might have memorized every note of the piece you are hearing, or she might be playing by ear, but chances are she's using chord style piano to help her play the harmony parts. Chord style piano is used by many pop/rock artists and performers, and it is also a learning style that is well-suited to adult piano students who can more easily comprehend the intellectual framework it provides.
When I was growing up, we had a piano that didn't serve much purpose other than to hold lamps and picture frames. Every once in a while I would sit down and plunk out a melody, playing mostly by ear. I even learned a few basic chords and added harmonies to simple songs. That's about as far as I got before deciding as an adult to finally take piano lessons. I wanted to learn how to play the piano "right," so I ignored those little symbols above the notes on my sheet music--symbols like "Cmaj7, D, G7, Bb7#9"--and learned to play notes exactly as they were written on the treble and bass clefs. I made good progress over the course of a few years, but learning was sometimes slow and frustrating. Then I was introduced to chord style piano and discovered that a knowledge of chords gave me a "map" to the piano and let me pick and choose notes that would sound good in a given song. I combined this knowledge with the classical piano skills I had already learned, and soon was regularly receiving compliments on my playing. Chord style piano even helped me site read and play classical music better, because I had increased confidence and my hands were already familiar with many of the shapes and movements found in other piano styles.
Here's a very brief description of how chord style piano (sometimes called "popular piano") works. Think of a simple song like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." This song consists of 3 chords: C, F, and G7. These letters are both names of chords and the names of the root note each chord is built on. The C chord contains three notes: C, E, and G. The F chord also contains 3 notes: F, A and C. The G7 chord contains 4 notes: G, B and D and F. These notes could be written on the bass clef using standard notation (with stems and rhythm values), but in chord style piano the bass clef is eliminated or ignored and the left hand part is simply notated with letters and other chord symbols. This type of notation is very common in jazz and popular music. It can be found in "fake books," in music marked "Piano - Vocal - Guitar" and in most non-classical arrangements. Advanced chord style pianists with a good knowledge of theory can even look at music without chord symbols and determine which chords to play.
The pianist who is learning to play chord style piano has three key challenges to overcome. First, the pianist must memorize a variety of chords. Basic 3-note chords are either major (happier sounding chords) or minor (sadder sound chords). Beyond these, there are diminished chords, augmented chords, and extended chords such as G7 (mentioned above) and F13 (a chord that contains 7 notes in its original form, although sometimes certain notes are dropped to improve playability). While the sheer number of possible chords may seem overwhelming, they follow consistent patterns, so the same hand shape can be used to play several chords. As an example, the same hand shape used to play the C major chord can be used to play D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished. The only thing that changes is the note you start on. Also, since chords are the building blocks for songs, once you learn a C chord you can use it in thousands of other songs that call for it. It is helpful to learn some of the theory behind how chords are constructed, to make it easier to find the right notes for a given chord. There are also chord reference guides that show pianists which notes to play for each chord.
The second challenge the chord style pianist must overcome is that of variety and interest. Playing the same chords the same way in a song--especially if the chord is only played once during a measure of music--is boring and unsatisfying for both pianist and listener. Fortunately, chords can be much more versatile than a written bass clef, because the pianist gets to choose how he wants the song to sound, and can either plan what he will play in advance or make up the left hand as he goes. An experienced chord style pianist rarely plays a song the same way twice, creating interest by inverting, arpeggiating, and playing chords in different places on the keyboard. Chord notes can also be dropped to create different sounds (as an example, try playing just the C and G notes of a C chord). Chord notes can be played with just the left hand or with both hands, and if the pianist isn't satisfied with the chords for a given arrangement, he can experiment with others that may sound better (this is called chord substitution). For example, Cmaj7 can sometimes be substituted for C to give songs a jazzier sound, and Em can sometimes be substituted for C to create variety. He can also vary the rhythm in the left hand, playing eighth notes instead of quarter notes, for example, or syncopating the rhythm. The right hand can add additional variety with run-ups, trills, fills, slides, octave melodies and glissandos. There is no end to the possibilities chord style piano allows. This is personal, expressive, creative piano at its best! Just remember to keep a steady rhythm while playing. Experiment with different sounds and techniques, and let your ears tell you when you've found something that works.
The third challenge the chord style pianist must overcome is that of her own perception and the perceptions of others. Unfortunately, chord style piano is sometimes touted by dishonest web scams as a way to "play piano instantly," "learn to play piano in just 10 days" or "learn to read music in 30 minutes." These utterly ridiculous claims of overnight success would be laughable if so many people weren't fooled by them. Chord style piano is a valid technique for improving your playing, but it can't take the place of years of correct practice. On the other side of the equation, many classical/traditional piano teachers think that chord style piano is "cheating." This may be a valid claim for classical music, since chord style piano is usually not well-suited to that type of playing. However, when playing songs like "Moon River" or "As Time Goes By," chord style piano can allow the pianist to produce far more satisfying results than when playing notes exactly as written. Too many piano students get stuck on the mental process of reading and playing notes, and never really teach their fingers how to play quickly and creatively. Chord style piano allows pianists to make use of notes but not be entirely at the mercy of the arranger. It also reduces sheet music expenses, since a chord style pianist can experiment with a variety of styles using the same piece of music. Ultimately, the best defense against those who think chord style piano is "cheating" is simply to ignore them. As long as you are satisfied with the results you are getting, that's what matters.
Chord style piano can also provide a great foundation for successful improvisation. Ironically, improvisation was a common practice by classical era composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, but it is typically marginalized by modern classical piano teachers. At first, learn to improvise over a standard chord progression (such as C-F-G7-C), and then experiment with creating your own progressions, planning them in advance or making them up as you go. When you invent a new melody and play it over your chord progression, you're improvising. Jazz musicians do this all the time, and it's a great exercise for songwriters too. Another improvisation technique involves taking an existing song like "Silent Night" and playing its exact chord progression with the left hand while making up a new melody in the right hand using scale notes. This may seem intimidating at first, but keep in mind that the improviser never makes mistakes--she just takes unexpected turns. The goals is to create, learn, experiment, develop your own style, express yourself and most of all to have fun.
So how do you learn chord style piano? Get a chord reference book, get some arrangements of your favorite songs, find a competent teacher who is willing and able to instruct you in this style, and start playing. With time, effort and consistent practice, chord style piano can bring you a lifetime of enjoyment.
