Hello my friends! Do you play any music instruments?
If you understand music theory, you should know that most frequently encountered chords are triads that consist of three distinct notes. For example, the C chord is built from the bottom up C-E-G or 1-3-5, the F chord is F-A-C or 4-6-1, and the A minor chord is A-C-E or 6-1-3.
Despite my lack of knowledge of the keyboard, I enjoy playing it occasionally at home. As I have a music background through the guitar, I am able to play a couple of chords and sing along with some simple pop songs. At first, I always played these chords with my thumb in the root position. I noticed that my hand was jumping all over the keyboards. It was quite boring, distracting and annoying.
“This is so stupid! I don't think professor keyboard players play chords like me. There must be a way to resolve this.” I told myself. To find a better way to play the chords on the keyboard, I did the following three things.
Firstly, I started to think outside the box. Do I have to play the F chords as F-A-C (4-6-1)? Would it be better to play C-F-A (1-4-6) instead? What about the A chord? Can I replace A-C-E _6-1-3) with C-E-A (1-3-6)? Since, there are shared chord tones across the C, F, and A chords, it would be much easier for me to switch among these chords if I had that option!
Secondly, I called a friend who is a keyboard player. After listening to my question, she confirmed that what I had in mind was a chord inversion, which allows keyboard players to smoothly change between chords in a progression without bouncing their hands all over the keyboard.. Awesome! It was obvious that I didn't just invent unrealistic ideas.
Last but not least, I did my research and started learning chord inversions by reading articles and watching tutorial videos. What I didn't realize was that, in addition to making it easier to play the keyboard, chord inversions also make our chord progressions more colorful and sophisticated. I got a bonus!
I am now very comfortable with chord inversions. Aside from learning the keyboard, I like that I always follow my three steps whenever I feel that I am doing repetitive tasks in an inefficient manner. The better way to improve my performance must exist!
The letter you received this week is intended to give you an idea. I hope you like it! Talk soon.
