Easy Rock And Roll Piano Lesson Video
Well, it took me long enough, but in response to some comments and emails about my last blog post on rock and roll piano, I decided to put together a video showing the basics of good ol’ rock and roll piano.
This lesson covers some simple left-hand bass and right-hand chord patterns that will fit with such classic tunes as “Johnny B. Goode,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Old Time Rock and Roll,” to name just a few.
If you like this rock and roll piano lesson, or if you have any questions or other input, please leave your comments below and, if you like it, please use the ReTweet button or the share link to share with your friends.
Without further adieu, let’s rock and roll on the piano…
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Rock And Roll Piano Lesson – Classic, Fast, And Easy!
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about rock and roll piano – well, I guess I should say rock ‘n’ roll, to be official.
This will hopefully be a very simple lesson for you, because rock and roll piano uses some very simple structures.
Before we do anything, here’s a picture of the piano keys and note names for your reference. This pattern repeats up and down the piano, so the note names remain the same – they just make higher or lower sounds.
First, let’s talk about the chord progression.
The most standard progression is based on the “12-bar blues” progression:
(4 bars of I) + (2 bars of IV) + (2 bars of I) + (1 bar of V7) + (1 bar of IV) + (2 bars of I)
If you’ll recall from some of my other lessons, the roman numerals correspond to chords based on scale tones. Capital numbers are major chords, and the number corresponds to the scale tone of the chord root.
For example, in the key of C:
I = C major = C-E-G
IV = F major = F-A-C
V7 = G7 = G-B-D-F
Now, let’s talk about each hand separately, then we’ll put them together for the finale, OK?
For the left hand, I suggest starting with one of the following two bass lines:
1-6-5-6
or
1-3-5-6
OK, so what does THAT mean?!
Well, those numbers represent notes in the major scale in whatever key you’re playing.
For example, in the key of C, a C major scale is:
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
So, those two bass lines become:
C A G A (moving DOWN from C to A and A to G, then back up to C)
or
C E G A (moving UP the entire time)
For a song that’s “in 4″ (4/4 tempo – 4 beats to a measure), simply play this pattern over and over in your left hand.
Got it?
Now, for the right hand…
The easiest thing to play would be the following pattern, depending on the chord being played:
Alternate these two chords over and over for the “C major” portion of the progression:
C-E-G
C-F-A
Each chord should be played at the same time as the left hand. In other words, both hands press the piano keys at the same time:
LH RH
– –
C C-E-G
E C-F-A
G C-E-G
A C-F-A
(This is actually a nice little 2-hand practice pattern)
For the “IV” part of the progression – let’s stick with the key of C for this – play the following 2 chords:
F-A-C
F-Bb-D
while the left hand plays the same pattern as before, but beginning on F:
F-D-C-D
or
F-A-C-D
Finally, for the “V7″ portion of the progression, the left hand portion is:
G-E-D-E
or
G-B-D-E
and the right-hand chords are:
G-B-D
G-C-E
The rhythmic pattern is the same throughout this entire progression – simply apply the appropriate chord and bass pattern to each section to build the following chord progression for each measure of 4 beats:
C – C – C – C – F – F – C – C – G7 – F – C – C
It’s kind of like putting together the pieces of a puzzle. In fact, that’s exactly how I think of it when I learn a new tune.
Hope that helps you rock a little harder, or at least easier 
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How To Use Patterns To Improve Your Piano Playing FAST!
Patterns are an integral part of the piano – the whole keyboard is built upon a single series of 12 keys, and piano sheet music naturally involves a number of patterns – both melodic (single notes) and harmonic (multiple notes).
In this video lesson, I’ll show you how you can use some very simple patterns to improve your piano playing FAST. They may take just a little practice, but once you learn these and start creating your own, I think you’ll begin to see the power of piano patterns.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or other feedback about this lesson, please leave a comment below!
Thanks.
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