Learn Chord Piano: The Joys
If you’ve ever just learned to play an instrument you are familiar with the shy embarrassment of being asked to play for someone else or even a group. The performance anxiety can completely cripple your ability to put any two notes together. It’s a confidence shredding experience.
I always envied those who could sit down and entertain or accompany others singing with calm assurance and enjoyment. I could do so with my guitar but never with a keyboard or piano. Never, that is, until I took it upon myself to learn chord piano and discovered the wonderful the joys of chord piano and the world of FAKE books.
In short chord piano allows you to play chords with your left (and right) hand instead of playing the notes and written arrangements for the left hand. I can sight read a melody line with relative ease. However, combining that with the left hand accompaniment has always been a challenge. By learning to site read and play chords in my own style I can play most every song you put in front of my face. All I need is the melody and some chords and off I go.
This has opened a whole new world of possibilities for public sharing of my talent. On occasion is the organist at church is sick I can step in on the piano. I just open up my 1000 hymns FAKE book and I’m ready. If children come to visit I reach for my anthology of children’s songs or my Disney FAKE book and I’m ready with” Itzy Bitzy Spider” or “When You Wish Upon A Star.” The enjoyment on their little faces is so rewarding.
Some evenings my wife sits with me on the piano bench and we sing old Gospel or 100 Contemporary Christian Favorites. She especially likes “Go Light Your World.” Then she might take a break while I sing and play romantic ballads or some show tunes. Take my word guys, playing the piano goes is a hit with women! At least my wife says so!
It’s a great joy to play old favorites at the Nursing Homes. I often get asked to entertain there in my job as Chaplin. They Love “You are My Sunshine” and He’s Got the Whole World in his Hands”. It’s touching to see how much my elderly patients enjoy these songs.
I’ve been blessed with the inspiration to write many Praise and Worship songs greatly enjoyed by my congregations over the years. It’s always a thrill to sing “Under Your Rainbow” one of my favorite songs of the hundreds I have written. I have many of my original songs on New Christian Songs.
I highly recommend you learn chord piano. Maybe you had a frustrating year or so of paino lessons as a child only to give up. I urge you refresh you knowledge of simple notes of the music scale and to try agian with chord paino!
September 3, 2011
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Posted by Jam Man
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