Mark Harrison - Pop Ballad Piano for Beginners

Published by: Harrison Music Education Systems, P.O. Box 5068, West Hills, CA 91308, USA

Publication date: 07/01/12

Copyright: 2012 Mark Harrison

ISBN Number: 9781623095055

For information on our music education books and CDs, downloadable products and packages, and private on-line lessons, please visit our website: www.harrisonmusic.com

Welcome to Pop Ballad Piano For Beginners. This book will start you on the road to playing pop ballad piano, even if you are a complete beginner. This will be especially useful if you are a singer-songwriter needing to accompany yourself in a ballad style. Youll get started right away by learning some essential pop ballad comping patterns to use on your next gig or open mic night!

Please email us at books@harrisonmusic.com with Pop Ballad Piano For Beginners in the subject, to receive your FREE mp3 audio recordings of all the music examples in this book! Most of the audio recordings feature a rhythm section on the left channel, and the piano on the right channel. To play along with the band, turn down the right channel to eliminate the recorded piano. To hear the piano part for reference, turn down the left channel to eliminate the rhythm section.

Along with your free mp3s, you will also receive free pdf versions of all the music notation examples. So if your e-reader does not display the notation examples clearly enough, you can use the pdf versions as a convenient alternative.

Well start off with some basic pop ballad comping patterns using eighth notes. In case you didnt know: comping is musician slang for accompaniment so comping patterns are what you would use to accompany yourself singing (or to accompany another singer or instrumentalist).

Also, just a quick theory note: an eighth note divides the beat in half, so there are eight eighth notes within a 4/4 measure (most pop ballads are written in 4/4 time). On to our first eighth-note ballad comping pattern:

Example 1

In measure 1 the C chord symbol denotes a C major triad (spelled C E G), and in measure 2 the F chord symbol denotes an F major triad (spelled F A C). I refer to this type of ballad accompaniment as an alternating eighths pattern in my books and classes. This is because the right hand is alternating between the upper two notes of the chord and the lowest note of the chord, in an eighth-note pattern. Meanwhile the left hand is simply playing the root of each chord as whole notes. This is a signature pop ballad style think Imagine by John Lennon.

Be sure to check out the mp3 audio track for this example (especially if your note reading is at a beginning level!) Suggested fingering numbers are shown on the staff (1 = thumb, 5 = pinky): however, these are only a guide, and valid alternate fingerings will exist in many cases.

The eighth-note rhythmic counting (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &) is shown above the staff. This is how eighth notes are counted, with the 1, 2, 3 and 4 falling on the downbeats, and the &s in between falling on the upbeats. Count along to the mp3 audio track accompanying this example, to get comfortable with this rhythmic concept.

Note the horizontal line under the bass clef in each measure this tells you that the sustain pedal is to be used for the duration of each chord. This is normally needed in pop ballad styles. The remaining examples in this book do not show this line, however you should assume that the sustain pedal is required.

Technical hint: you should release the pedal at the point of chord change, then depress the pedal during the next chord (before releasing any notes on the keyboard that you want sustained). I often find that beginners want to depress the pedal at the point of chord change, which is incorrect so you may have some re-learning to do if you have acquired some wrong habits in this area!

Although the pattern in Example 1 sounds OK, note that a skip occurs between the C and F major chords, in that we jump up to a higher register. This is because both of these chords are played on root position, meaning that the root is on the bottom of each triad (i.e. C is the bottom note of the C major triad, and F is the bottom note of the F major triad). A smoother result will occur if we re-arrange the notes in the F major chord so that C is the bottom note of the chord, as in the following example:

Example 2

Comparing this to Example 1, we see that the rhythmic pattern is the same, and the right hand still starts with a root position C major triad in the first measure. However, in the second measure we are moving to an F major triad that has been inverted, so that the fifth of the chord (C) is on the bottom this is called second inversion. Using this inversion of the F major triad enables us to move more smoothly (i.e. without a larger interval skip) from the preceding C major triad in root position. This smooth movement between chord inversions is referred to as voice leading and is a staple technique in most contemporary piano styles including pop ballad.

Next well introduce a rhythmic variation in the left hand, as follows:

Example 3

Here the right hand is again using the alternating eighths comping style, but the left hand has changed to a dotted quarter eighth half rhythmic pattern. This means that the root of each chord is landing on beats 1 and 3, and half-way through beat 2 which is a pickup leading into beat 3. This generates good forward motion and is a staple left-hand pattern in pop ballad and pop-rock styles.

Also, note that the C major triad in the first measure is now inverted so that the third of the chord (E) is on the bottom this is called first inversion. This voice leads well (i.e. moves closely) to the F major triad in root position.

Now its time to use our new pop ballad comping patterns over a chord progression. Another quick theory note: the following progression is referred to as a I VI IV V (one six four five) sequence in the key of C. This means these chords are built from the first, 6th, 4th, and 5th degrees of a C major scale respectively. This is a very common chord progression, found in many pop songs:

Example 4

The right hand is still using the alternating eighths pattern, with triad inversions to voice lead smoothly from the first C major triad in root position. In this case, the A minor and G major triads are in first inversion, and the F major triad is in second inversion. Meanwhile, the left hand is playing the root of each chord, using the rhythmic pattern introduced in Example 3.

Work on connecting smoothly between these right hand triad inversions, when playing along with the backing track and dont forget to use the sustain pedal during each chord!