{"id":7105,"date":"2015-09-03T05:09:51","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T05:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/?p=7105"},"modified":"2015-12-06T23:46:23","modified_gmt":"2015-12-06T23:46:23","slug":"piano-tips-for-beat-makers-intro-music-theory-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/piano-tips-for-beat-makers-intro-music-theory-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction: Piano Tips for Beat Makers #1 | Music Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>Over the years, I&#8217;ve received a lot of questions from you beat makers pertaining to music theory, chord progressions, keys, melodies, counter-melodies and more. \u00a0Well in this introduction\u00a0I&#8217;ll cover some <strong>easy\u00a0piano tips<\/strong>\u00a0to get you started, and briefly\u00a0discuss how this theory\u00a0pertains to improving your music production.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bUF8-Wpagi4\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>My Quick Piano History<\/h2>\n<p>During the last two years of high school and first few years of\u00a0college (where I was studying a field\u00a0totally unrelated to music) <strong>I took five years of formal piano lessons<\/strong>, with a strong emphasis in\u00a0classical music during my latter\u00a0years.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been some time now\u00a0since I studied piano formally,\u00a0but the foundation and theory that I learned then has stuck with me over the years and has been a <em>huge<\/em> asset to me with\u00a0making my beats. \u00a0<strong>I still heavily rely on the fundamentals I learned then to assist my music production process now.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That knowledge\u00a0helps me to identify specific keys, melodies and counter-melodies, and the key of the sample I may be using (when I&#8217;m working on a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/making-a-sample-east-coast-hip-hop-instrumental-celebrate-w-ableton-live-akai-mpd32-mpk49\" target=\"_blank\">sample-based beat<\/a>) just to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>For some people, playing piano entirely by ear is a more natural, and even practical\u00a0option.\u00a0And in\u00a0some cases, you\u00a0may not\u00a0necessarily need to know all of the musical theory behind what you&#8217;re playing\u00a0&#8211; as long as it sounds good, of course\u00a0\ud83d\ude42\u00a0However, in many other\u00a0cases, music theory will come in very handy.<\/p>\n<p>If you ever find yourself struggling to translate and play\u00a0the chords or\u00a0melody lines in your head, or you&#8217;re struggling with any of the other topics previously mentioned in this article, I believe\u00a0some of the following information discussed will help you to become a better piano player,\u00a0music producer and overall musician.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Piano Tips for Beat Makers Introduction<\/h4>\n<h1>Keys and Scales (Circle of Fifths)<\/h1>\n<p>Being fluid in the various musical keys and scales, <strong>this is absolutely\u00a0foundational for your\u00a0beat making if you ask me<\/strong>. If you&#8217;re just starting out, this may sound like a daunting task\u00a0&#8211; having to learn the scales and which keys are played in each. \u00a0Like anything, to become a master (or develop a moderate skill set)\u00a0will take some time and a lot of practice. It will most definitely be worth your\u00a0effort in the end.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is there&#8217;s a simple chart to get you started called the <strong>Circle of Fifths<\/strong>. \u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">This chart outlines all of the major and minor keys for you<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7118\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Circle-of-fifths.jpg\" alt=\"circle of fifths\" width=\"600\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Circle-of-fifths.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Circle-of-fifths-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Circle-of-fifths-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I recommend checking out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.circleoffifths.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.circleoffifths.com<\/a> to help you understand in more detail how to read this chart and the individual notes that make up each individual scale.<\/p>\n<h4>Here are a few basic keys and scales I&#8217;d recommend learning to get\u00a0you started.<\/h4>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>C major Scale<\/h2>\n<p>The C major scale is our natural key, meaning there are no sharps or flats. In other words, it&#8217;s made up of all white keys.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7119\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/c-major-scale-on-piano-keyboard.png\" alt=\"c major scale\" width=\"440\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/c-major-scale-on-piano-keyboard.png 440w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/c-major-scale-on-piano-keyboard-300x153.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>G major Scale<\/h2>\n<p>Moving to the next key\u00a0on\u00a0the right hand side, or sharp side, of the circle of fifths is G major. \u00a0This time we sharp the F (F#), and introduce the first black note.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7120\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/g-major-scale-on-piano-keyboard.png\" alt=\"g major scale\" width=\"440\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/g-major-scale-on-piano-keyboard.png 440w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/g-major-scale-on-piano-keyboard-300x153.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>F major Scale<\/h2>\n<p>The first key on the flat side, or left hand side, of the circle of fifths is F major. \u00a0We flat the B (Bb) in this scale.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7121\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/f-major-scale.png\" alt=\"f-major-scale\" width=\"650\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/f-major-scale.png 650w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/f-major-scale-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>A minor Scale (harmonic)<\/h2>\n<p>I won&#8217;t get too far into minor scales in this article, but you&#8217;ll also want to know your minor keys and scales. <strong>This is the Am harmonic scale, which is <em>relative<\/em> to C major shown above.<\/strong> We&#8217;re playing all white notes (just like the C major scale) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">except with the minor <em>harmonic<\/em> scale, we raise the 7th<\/span>. In this case we play a G# as shown below.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7122\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/a-harmonic-minor-scale-on-piano-keyboard.png\" alt=\"a minor scale harmonic\" width=\"440\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/a-harmonic-minor-scale-on-piano-keyboard.png 440w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/a-harmonic-minor-scale-on-piano-keyboard-300x153.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>Relative Minor Keys<\/h1>\n<p>As referring back to the circle of fifths diagram, you&#8217;ll notice that each major scale highlighted also has a relative minor key.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7124\" style=\"width: 330px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7124\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7124\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/relative-minor-keys.png\" alt=\"Piano Tips - relative minor key\" width=\"320\" height=\"179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/relative-minor-keys.png 320w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/relative-minor-keys-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7124\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Piano Tips: Relative Minor Key<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The minor key for each major key can very easily be identified by dropping the root note of the major 3 half steps as shown below.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7125\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/relative_minor.png\" alt=\"relative minor piano\" width=\"471\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/relative_minor.png 471w, https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/relative_minor-300x113.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 471px) 100vw, 471px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE:<\/strong> A half step (1\/2 step) is the nearest point between any two notes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Recap<\/h2>\n<p>Again, this\u00a0is just meant to serve as a\u00a0quick introduction into a few easy\u00a0piano tips and some\u00a0simple music theory to get you started and kick this series off. <strong>For more advanced videos in this series where I deep dive into some more of these topics, make sure to <a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/tcustomzdotcom\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe on YouTube<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Let\u2019s Connect!<\/h2>\n<h5>DID YOU LIKE THIS VIDEO?\u00a0 DON\u2019T FORGET TO LIKE, COMMENT &amp; SHARE \ud83d\ude42<\/h5>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m very reachable on the following:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/\">Official Website<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/tcustomzdotcom\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/tcustomzproductionz\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/tcustomz\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/soundcloud.com\/tcustomz\" target=\"_blank\">Soundcloud<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/tcustomz\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/tcustomz.com\/free-downloads.html\" target=\"_blank\"><button class=\"btn btn-large btn-primary\" type=\"button\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 51 FREE HIP HOP DRUM SAMPLES &gt;&gt;<\/button><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/tcustomz.com\/consulting.html\" target=\"_blank\"><button class=\"btn btn-large btn-primary\" type=\"button\">1-ON-1 MUSIC PRODUCTION COACHING &gt;&gt;<\/button><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/category\/producer-tips-tutorials\">Click Here for More Music Production Tips &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the years, I&#8217;ve received a lot of questions from you beat makers pertaining to music theory, chord progressions, keys, melodies, counter-melodies and more. \u00a0Well in this introduction\u00a0I&#8217;ll cover some <strong>easy\u00a0piano tips<\/strong>\u00a0to get you started, and briefly\u00a0discuss how this theory\u00a0pertains\u00a0[&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[1338,2174],"class_list":["post-7105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-producer-tips-tutorials","tag-music-producer-tips","tag-piano-tips","post-1","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7105"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7524,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7105\/revisions\/7524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcustomz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}