Learn to Play Piano Without Sheet Music

There is nothing more free-flowing to a piano player than sitting down on the bench, placing fingers on the keys and playing. No rhyme or reason is behind this form of playing. There is no sheet music in front of the piano player which guides that next note. That simply came from the piano player’s heart. Unfortunately not enough of this free style form of playing takes place. Here are a few things than you can do to play piano without relying on sheet music.

Learning to play piano without sheet music present requires an understanding of chord and music structure. A popular musical term is tertian harmony. This refers to the intervals of three that is all musical notes are an interval apart. All intervals are one note apart. For example C, D and E are all a musical note interval apart from one another. Tertian harmony therefore refers to all chords being three intervals apart. The C chord is based on C, E and G.

All chords consist of musical notes on a scale. The C scale is the major scale in the music world. A traditional C scale contains the following notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C. From there you are able to determine to remaining chords in an interval. Adding chords to each set and determining whether it is a minor or major note is set by the scale.

Another popular chord in music is the F scale. The notes here are F, A, and C. Note that both the A and C notes appear on this scale and the C scale. Overlapping the F chord and C chord will produce a unique musical sound to your piano playing. Take it one step further by mixing up major and minor notes together. Be cautious about mixing G sharp with E flat. This may produce a delightful sound to you but to others it will appear that you have no clue about playing piano. A great chord combination is the G major chord or the D chord where you can play F sharp as a third interval.

In the musical world of piano playing, all chord scales reference the C scale. This is the starting point for beginner piano lessons. A basic C chord is displayed as C-1; D-2; E-3 and on from there.

Song structure consists of limited chords that play in a repetitive circle in conjunction with the main melody. Learn how to play the main scales of C, D, F and G first. As you polish these skills, you can build on the foundation from there. Interchange these scales with less popular ones to find a new mix of music. Try chord progressions of 1, 4, 5 and 4, 5, 1 as a starting point.

Master the art of chord progression and watch your piano playing options soar. Once you’ve learned how to match scale progression to music selection, your songs will take on a whole new life. From there you are on your way to playing without that sheet music.