How to play a song without looking at the scores?

[venn]

Hi, to all experts out there.. i am a chinese, malaysian.

how to identify a piano chord? i forgotten my theory already. haha.
someone out there to refresh my memory?
how do i identify the song, composed in what key?

is there any tips to play a song without looking at the scores?
i play modern songs instead of classical.

 

[rhapsody in orange]

how do i identify the song, composed in what key?

You can try the key signature =)

how to identify a piano chord

A chord is the simultaneous combination of notes usually of not fewer than 3. The use of chords is the basic foundation of harmony. So to identify a chord, you have first to look at the notes which make up the chord. If it makes it easier, try rearranging the notes such that you'll have a triad - intervals of thirds from the notes (root position). Then you'll know what chord it is by looking at the lowest note. Eg. C-E-G is a c major chord in root position.

I don't know if my explanation helps.. I'm no expert by the way =)

[asyncopated]

Hi,

I'm not an expert, far from it.  But, I'll try to tell you what I know about key signatures  (Major only).  Basically, when you say music is tonal and therefore has a scale, want you mean is that from the chromatic scale (all notes) only certain notes are favoured. 

This is as opposed to atonal (twelve tone) music, where there are rules to try and play all notes equally so that music does not follow a particular scale.  Some people says it sounds yucky but I think it's just what our brains are used to. 

Anyway so with tonal music, for the major scale, you have 7 notes in an octave (With 2 of the same notes an octave apart)  say F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E and within the chormatic scale, which has 12 notes.  The notes for the scale ascending are the same for those decending.  This is not always true (look at the minor scales!).

Key signatures occur when you transpose from one starting note to another.  Composers often assocate key signatures with emotional or compositional content or just for fun, for example bach used to write his name into his scores B-A-C-H(Bb).
Think you can find it in his B-minor mass (H-moll).  (If you want to come over to singapore to borrow it, I have a copy.)

The other thing to note (no pun intended) is that peices do not have to stay in that particular key, it can modulate from one key to another and back.  One reason why composers do this is so that the music has resolution.  Say we start from C major, we can modulate to G major ( fifth ) to A minor ( relative minor ) and back to C major, so that our ear is satisfied that we ended up in the same place we started out with.  If fact the first of bach's 2 part invensions has roughly this structure.  I am fond of bach  .

So anyway, apart from all the technicalities of why there are scales and what they mean, here is an easy way to identify scales.  Basically count the number of sharps or flats.  It increases or decreases in fifths (C to G is a fifth apart) which musicians call the circle of fifths

(Going up)
Sharps
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
C - G - D - A - E - B - F# - C#

(Going Down)
Flats
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
C - F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb - Cb

The sharps are made by the circle going up and the flats made by the circle going down.  Each of the keys are exactly 7 semitones apart ( (C) - C# - D - D# - E - F - F# - G) .

That last thing to note is that with the last three key singatures with  5 - 6  and 7 sharps and flats, essentially all the back keys used. And that there are only 5 of them. 

So we say that these keys are enharmonics of each other.  That is they have different names (and possibly mean different things in a composition) but have essentially use the same notes. (A purist would say otherwise, but we stick with well-tempered instruments).

So
Sharps and (Flats)

5(7) - 6(6) - 5(7)
B(Cb) - F#(Gb) -  C#(Db)

are enharmonic keys of each other.

You can put this round in a circle and what you have is what is in Eric Taylor's theory book.

So the last thing to remember is that sharps and flats accumulate incrementally that is for the next key in the circle, you add one on to what you have already.

Without looking for mnemonics, here is the order

sharps
0 - F# - C# - G# - D# -  A# (all 5 sharps down)- E# - B#

flats
0 - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db -  Gb (all 5 sharps down)- Cb - Fb


I must be driving you mad by now.

My advice is that you should try experimenting with these ideas.  Try composing  (Pick a difficult key)  just 8 bars and try transpositing it.   

Hope this helps,

al.