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You don't have to read music to play music! Think about this ... someone, somewhere made music without a written note. The writing came afterward, as a way to share, and/or remember the music. I started playing guitar 40 years ago, I just plucked away at it until I started making music. I have never learned to read musical notes, and I doubt I ever will. I have recently(4 years ago)taken up the piano, and I want to share my method with anyone who wants to have fun on the piano.

There are 88 keys on a piano, but only 12 notes. That's right, 12 notes that repeat over and over in sequence. The first note is a white key, it is an A-note, the next white key is a B-note. And after B comes C, still on white notes, D,E,F,G. Then they repeat, A through G, and again and again. You're probably thinking that's only 7 notes ... the other 5 are the black keys. They are the sharps and flats, if you play the black note to the right of a G note it will be G-sharp, or if you are playing from the A note, the same G-sharp would be called A-flat. This can be confusing, but for this lesson it is unimportant.

The Home Key on a piano is the middle C. The C note is the white note to the left of the two black notes. If you are confused about this, start at first note and do your ABC's on the white notes, and you will figure it out. The middle C is the C note closest to the middle of the piano ... that's where we will make our first chord. Put your thumb on the middle C, count that as number 1. Count the keys to the right, white and black up to 5, that is second note in the C chord, if you've done it right you should be on E note. Continue counting white and black notes to 8, that is the final note in the C chord, a G note. If you play all three together it should make a beautiful sound, assuming you got it right and piano is in tune.

Using this 1-5-8 sequence, you can make any natural chord on the piano. You can start on any note, and count 1-5-8 making sure to count white and black keys, and make the chord for that root note. If you start on F note, it will be an F chord, B note, B chord, and so on. It works with sharps and flats as well. If you start on A-sharp, you make A-sharp chord, etc.

Once you start practicing finding these chords without counting, you will be on your way to learning the piano. If you drop the number 5 note to a 4 you will make the minor chord for that note. Say you playing C chord, move your middle note one key to your left, and you will make a C minor. Try it and you will hear the difference, it makes a very dramatic, haunting sound. This too works on all keys.

Of course if you're tone deaf, you're probably not going to master any instrument. But if you can hear the notes, and the differences in them, I am convinced you can have fun at the piano. And that's what music is all about ... fun.

Learn more about this author, Marty Alan McGill.
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