I have two GREAT OFFERS running right now: the first is a deal on my PDF/video Piano Packs - get all six for £16.95! More info here: www.billspianopages.com/pianopacks - then there's the bundle deal on the digital editions of my three current books, available here: www.billspianopages.com/bundle
This was the best explanation of how to approach 1564 chords. As someone who has a background in music theory but want to begin some freestyle playing, I've never felt any video or person explain this so clearly. Thank you!
Note that Pachabel’s Canon also fallows a similar chord progression with the first part of the Canon’s iconic chord progression being 1 5 6 3 which is why it sounds so similar to Pachabel’s Canon and why Canon in D can be mashed up with so many pop songs as it only differs by one chord from the Four Chords of Pop
Just love this tut, Bill. Some customer projects have kept me away from practicing it much for the last few days, but much of that is behind me for the moment. And, some cold rainy (below freezing) days and evenings this coming week, will match the expressions I'm able to draw out from this progression. I've taken to heart your comment about letting your ear find some combinations that work, which sort of naturally lends itself to some passing notes and embellishments....some yours...some mine. Then, I've taken your "time suspension" practice comments from your other recent video, to begin to really nail this down into something that I can begin to call "my own song"....something that I can see myself even playing for others. Marvelous. Can't thank you enough for this one.
A really great lesson, thanks Bill. I really think it's worth trying all these techniques you show in all 12 keys, around the circle of 4ths/5ths. This kind of playing around is also great for hand independence without specifically doing hand independence exercises, which can get a bit boring. So many benefits :)
As someone who plays piano without sheet music, memorizing chord progressions, and playing by ear, this is super helpful. My favorite progressions are 6-4-1-5 and this one. Mainly because 1-6-4-5 is too mainstream 😅. That's how I learned to play River Flows to You and Say You Won't Let Go. Love your videos 'cause they teach me different ways to branch out from my simple chord progressions.
Really glad to hear my stuff is useful to you, Tristan! Interesting what you say about the 1-6-4-5 progression vs the others. 1-6-4-5 is a classic jazz and 50s progression (it’s sometimes know as “the fifties progression, as you may be aware). I think one of reasons it’s (relatively) less used in contemporary pop is that it has that authentic cadence in when it loops from the V back to the I (although the relevant chords usually get substituted in jazz playing). I say that kind of apropos of nothing, except that it’s a point I thought of including in the tutorial, but didn’t because I thought it was maybe getting a bit too far into the obscure depths of chord nerdery 😂
Interesting video had me trying things while listening. Looking at the I V VI IV by function its a Tonic, Dominant, Tonic, Dominant progression, so you get your V-I cadence when it loops. Then adding the A7/C# you setting up the Dm with it's V, A7 kind of a Jazz view of the same thing. Now what I was enjoying doing was taking that Bb and making it into a "backdoor II-V" for more of a turnaround sound so instead of Bb for a measure I used Bbmi Eb7 then back to the top. Fun to add some movement to this progression.
Excellent - I'm really glad to hear this. As I'm making them, the ideal viewer I have in my head is someone who is actually sat at keyboard or piano and trying out the ideas!
Amazing video, high quality as usual. Everything's top notch in this channel. Great teacher, beautiful Nord piano, well positioned camera and oh, what an accent (still wondering where you are from). Keep on the good work Bill. Cheers
thank u Bill. A very thought provoking video! Very insightful and well explained! I owe so much of my playing now to your generous teaching videos. Now off to practice some 1 -5 -6 -4!!!
You're welcome, David - just playing around and exploring what you can do is absolutely the best way to learn this stuff. Give me a yell if you have any questions!
This is excellent Bill! I haven't been playing piano long (since Jan) and just getting into messing about with this progression. It is a lot of fun noodling around with it. Also, I'm interested in learning about your setup. Do you go line in from your Nord when making videos or... ? I am thinking of upgrading to a Nord (Dexibell is my second choice). What sort of amplification do you use/recommend or is best suited. Note: I will probably mostly be playing at a home studio environment. Thanks once again for an excellent video!
Thanks Christie - you’re welcome! You should be able to order print editions of How To Really Play The Piano and Seven Studies in Pop Piano from most bookstores. Further details, including how to buy the pdf versions, you can find at www.billspianopages.com
This was super helpful thank you. I've been trying to find videos online for creating song for creating Simple songs over a basic beat, I haven't seen anything on UA-cam yet that really does it completely. I think something like that would be a nice companion to this video. A lot of times I'll come up with a nice little rift but I have no idea how to fit that over a cord progression and on top of a drum beat.
My understanding has always been that what you describe as the “authentic cadence “ is what I have been taught is the “perfect cadence” or the root-perfect fifth cadence.
I am a first year college music theory student and do not have much experience with piano. Any tips? Like studying fingerings or exercises? I love melody ideas and being creative
It very much depends on the level you're at. If you're really completely new then I'd say take a look at my piano for beginners' course (it's here, on UA-cam, entirely free: ua-cam.com/play/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs.html is the playlist link). If you're not completely new - and I'm guessing you're not, if you're studying music theory - then maybe take a look at the later lessons in that course. Either way, scales are ALWAYS going to help, so work on those, but in general I'd say find some actual music you like and practise that. If you can, work in some classical pieces: they are superb for building basic skills. And feel free to ask if you have any other questions!
Really love your teaching. Big thanks. When playing a 2nd or 3rd inversion chord with octaves in the left hand, that makes for a chord with 3, 3rds or 5ths, assuming you also play one with the right hand. Do you adjust for that ever or is it generally not a problem having so many 3rds or 5ths?
You're welcome, Steve! Generally not, at least when you're improvising on a piano - if you were scoring something for orchestra there are more rules/guidelines to follow. On the piano you can usually get away with using your ear. One guideline that might be worth bearing in mind is "watch the thirds" - if you're in first inversion AND have a lot of thirds in the upper structure it can do funny things with the chord's identity and tonality, especially if it's minor. Otherwise, trust your ears unless someone offers you an orchestration job!
@@BillHilton cheers! I have a rock / blues background and play guitar but I’ve been doing some scoring lately and doubling thirds and fifths have come up in my studies. Trust your ear is always good advice!
@@knuck75 Absolutely! If you’re scoring stuff out rather than improvising it’s always worth bearing the doubling rules in mind, even if you choose not to use them in individual instances, because they’ll usually give you the best sound. However when you’re just jamming along you’ve got enough to think about without worrying about the details of chord structures 😂 Give me a shout if there’s anything else I can help with!
Great Video, I'm just starting out playing piano but have created many song melodies without formal training. What tools would you recommend to memorize Major Chords with a related left hand Bass line?
Thank you! In terms of memorising major chords (or any chords, in fact, major, minor, sevenths, diminisheds or whatever) I actually made a tutorial on that very subject a couple of weeks ago: “The BEST Way To Learn Chords” ua-cam.com/video/XCW1i-bIhGU/v-deo.html. In terms of bass lines, you might find this useful: ua-cam.com/video/QOMh4SLH-vY/v-deo.html
Merci beaucoup for this. It was slightly above my pay grade after only one month of piano lessons. But I keep coming back since you have a nice way of explaining things that give me hopr for the future. Like a significant minority of people, I am colour blind. It was only towards the end that I noticed that that colour was also used over the black keys. I have a hard time with blues, and also red and green. Could you start using yellow since it would be easier to see with the black keys? I've been working on dichromatic chords for only about a week and want to also incorporate inversions. Do you have to write them out to build up your patterns?
Thanks for this Bill, I think I might be brave enough to give a bit of improvisation a whirl. Question for you, is it cheating or bad practice to to play a chord like Dm7 with your right hand using your thumb to play the C and D simultaneously?
You're welcome, Mark! Nope, it's not cheating - you'll often find piano composers, especially the later Romantic ones, writing chords that force you to do that. But, on the whole it's not considered ideal unless you have to do it, but that's more because you're likely to run into problems with evenness and control, which begin to matter when you're playing chords at a higher level. So I wouldn't worry about doing it occasionally, but it's probably not a good idea to depend on it as your only way of playing particular chords: I'd be sure to thoroughly practise the "proper" way as well. Does that help?
I am interested in the ebooks! I might get them but I need to feel a bit more confident with reading music! I have a question as well, How much should I worry about when purchasing a piano as a beginner? Have you made a video on this topic before? I'd love to hear your opinion as I don't mind spending more for a piano but I am not sure if spending more than $500 is doing too much. Should I be looking for something cheaper, as a beginner? I love your videos and thank you!
I'm really glad you like the videos! Yes, the books and Piano Packs do need a certain amount of confidence with reading music, so it's probably a good idea to work on your skills a little before getting started on them. I haven't made a tutorial on piano buying simply because it would get old quite fast (!) but right now, the $500 mark would certainly get you something playable - the lower end of the Casio range is pretty good these days. If you're prepared to go second hand, than $500 might get you something from Yamaha or (even better) one of the Roland FP series, which are truly excellent. The main thing you're looking for in a digital piano is 88 full size, weighted keys and at least a sustain (right) pedal. Sustain and a soft pedal would be even better. Good luck, and let me know how you get on!
@@BillHilton Hey! I ended up getting the Roland FP-30X! I'm having a good time with it so far. Definitely above the $500 budget but I honestly think it was worth it.
@@swaguilar_ Good call! Yes, you'll definitely find it's worth it - in terms of bang-for-buck the Roland FPs are very hard to beat. Let me know how you get on!
I had the notion that 2nd inversion chords may be misleading, having the 5th on the bass is only "allowed" in dominant chords? It is just a rule to be broken?
Morning - sorry for the delay replying to this: I'm just going through old comments! There are some fairly complex "rules" around voice leading (to use the technical term) but nothing I've ever come across that stipulates you can only use second inversion on the V chord, so you're good to use it with any function as far as I'm concerned. It's worth being mindful of the very striking nature of 2nd inversion, though!
I'd love to, Farshid, but right now I'm fully stacked out with work projects - I might have some availability in the new year, though, so it's worth checking back if you're still looking then!
Hi Bill, I’ve been following your channel for quite a few years now and love your content. Finally bought all your books in the bundle yesterday. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words, Derek, and also thanks very much for buying the books - I really hope you find them useful. Any questions you have about anything in them, or about piano, chords, improvisation, music theory etc etc in general, just give me a shout!
Thanks for your interest, Dieter! There's nothing exactly like this in any of the books (except, partially, in Seven Studies in Pop Piano, which uses some 1564 progressions). However, you might find quite a lot of useful material in the various collections on my Patreon at www.patreon.com/billhilton such as my Piano Packs and the Exercises, Inventions and Ideas series.
I have two GREAT OFFERS running right now: the first is a deal on my PDF/video Piano Packs - get all six for £16.95! More info here: www.billspianopages.com/pianopacks - then there's the bundle deal on the digital editions of my three current books, available here: www.billspianopages.com/bundle
This was the best explanation of how to approach 1564 chords. As someone who has a background in music theory but want to begin some freestyle playing, I've never felt any video or person explain this so clearly. Thank you!
Easy to follow-perfect visual angle along with clear audio; outstanding instruction!
Thanks Duane - I’m really glad you liked it!
Note that Pachabel’s Canon also fallows a similar chord progression with the first part of the Canon’s iconic chord progression being 1 5 6 3 which is why it sounds so similar to Pachabel’s Canon and why Canon in D can be mashed up with so many pop songs as it only differs by one chord from the Four Chords of Pop
Just love this tut, Bill. Some customer projects have kept me away from practicing it much for the last few days, but much of that is behind me for the moment. And, some cold rainy (below freezing) days and evenings this coming week, will match the expressions I'm able to draw out from this progression. I've taken to heart your comment about letting your ear find some combinations that work, which sort of naturally lends itself to some passing notes and embellishments....some yours...some mine. Then, I've taken your "time suspension" practice comments from your other recent video, to begin to really nail this down into something that I can begin to call "my own song"....something that I can see myself even playing for others. Marvelous. Can't thank you enough for this one.
You're welcome, Lon - I'm glad to hear you're keeping busy. You've got to keep that Baldwin exercised!
A really great lesson, thanks Bill. I really think it's worth trying all these techniques you show in all 12 keys, around the circle of 4ths/5ths. This kind of playing around is also great for hand independence without specifically doing hand independence exercises, which can get a bit boring. So many benefits :)
You're welcome, Col - and thanks, by the way, for picking up a copy of Seven Studies today. I appreciate it!
Thanks!
As someone who plays piano without sheet music, memorizing chord progressions, and playing by ear, this is super helpful. My favorite progressions are 6-4-1-5 and this one. Mainly because 1-6-4-5 is too mainstream 😅. That's how I learned to play River Flows to You and Say You Won't Let Go. Love your videos 'cause they teach me different ways to branch out from my simple chord progressions.
Really glad to hear my stuff is useful to you, Tristan! Interesting what you say about the 1-6-4-5 progression vs the others. 1-6-4-5 is a classic jazz and 50s progression (it’s sometimes know as “the fifties progression, as you may be aware). I think one of reasons it’s (relatively) less used in contemporary pop is that it has that authentic cadence in when it loops from the V back to the I (although the relevant chords usually get substituted in jazz playing). I say that kind of apropos of nothing, except that it’s a point I thought of including in the tutorial, but didn’t because I thought it was maybe getting a bit too far into the obscure depths of chord nerdery 😂
This is so good Bill. I love your book how to really play the piano.Thank you.
Thanks Janet - hope you're well, and glad you like it!
@@BillHilton I love it and miss your great tutorials! ☺️
Can you please elaborate on what did you do with the book and how did it help you?
Brilliant tutorial. Plain and simple
Great lesson, Bill. I found this I immensely helpful. :)
the pencil on the keyboard is your signature
I love you. And .. ahh . I'm really glad that you used the word jam.
Beautiful hands and music.
Thank you!
Great thumbnail Bill! :)
Thanks Jens! I’m trying to be a bit more creative with them, but also kind of individual. Hope all’s well with you!
All the legends, together here, in this youtube commentary sección.
Luv it bill. Tks. Complex stuff very clearly explained as usual. Abraco.
You’re really welcome - glad you liked it!
Worth multiple repeat watches. pick up a little more each time.
You have helped me further along. Thank you, sir.
Very nice thumnail! And great tutorial!
Thank you!
Interesting video had me trying things while listening. Looking at the I V VI IV by function its a Tonic, Dominant, Tonic, Dominant progression, so you get your V-I cadence when it loops. Then adding the A7/C# you setting up the Dm with it's V, A7 kind of a Jazz view of the same thing. Now what I was enjoying doing was taking that Bb and making it into a "backdoor II-V" for more of a turnaround sound so instead of Bb for a measure I used Bbmi Eb7 then back to the top. Fun to add some movement to this progression.
Excellent - I'm really glad to hear this. As I'm making them, the ideal viewer I have in my head is someone who is actually sat at keyboard or piano and trying out the ideas!
Very helpful, thank you!
You are a wonderful teacher! Thank you!
Amazing video, high quality as usual. Everything's top notch in this channel.
Great teacher, beautiful Nord piano, well positioned camera and oh, what an accent (still wondering where you are from).
Keep on the good work Bill.
Cheers
Thanks Guido! Boston, Lincolnshire, England is where I’m from originally, though I now live just north of York. I’m really glad you like the tutorial!
Such a good tutorial
Thanks Iurii!
thank u Bill. A very thought provoking video! Very insightful and well explained! I owe so much of my playing now to your generous teaching videos. Now off to practice some 1 -5 -6 -4!!!
Thanks Kyle - I'm really glad you liked it, and it's great to hear my stuff has been helping you! Keep letting me know how you're doing!
Well it got me playing and being creative, so thanks
You're welcome, David - just playing around and exploring what you can do is absolutely the best way to learn this stuff. Give me a yell if you have any questions!
This is what we needed 😍
Thanks Sanathkumar - I hope you find it useful! Let me know if you have any questions on it!
This is excellent Bill! I haven't been playing piano long (since Jan) and just getting into messing about with this progression. It is a lot of fun noodling around with it. Also, I'm interested in learning about your setup. Do you go line in from your Nord when making videos or... ? I am thinking of upgrading to a Nord (Dexibell is my second choice). What sort of amplification do you use/recommend or is best suited. Note: I will probably mostly be playing at a home studio environment. Thanks once again for an excellent video!
Great! Thank you
God bless you Bill really appreciate the light u bring all the time brother, that book is it in store? Where we can find it plzzz.
Thanks Christie - you’re welcome! You should be able to order print editions of How To Really Play The Piano and Seven Studies in Pop Piano from most bookstores. Further details, including how to buy the pdf versions, you can find at www.billspianopages.com
Also, one can practise a vi-IV-I-V progression instead, if one prefers more minor moods...
A very good point!
I love the graphics
This was super helpful thank you. I've been trying to find videos online for creating song for creating Simple songs over a basic beat, I haven't seen anything on UA-cam yet that really does it completely. I think something like that would be a nice companion to this video. A lot of times I'll come up with a nice little rift but I have no idea how to fit that over a cord progression and on top of a drum beat.
Excellent graphics too.
Thank you very much - I appreciate that, as they certainly took a while! 😂
Love your videos
Right off the bat I'm hearing 'Let It Be'.
Nice Sir, thank you
Really interesting vid 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it James!
My understanding has always been that what you describe as the “authentic cadence “ is what I have been taught is the “perfect cadence” or the root-perfect fifth cadence.
I also love I - VI - II - V
Agreed - a very common chord progression in jazz and show music!
this is so cool!! thank you
Excellent vid
Thanks Dan!
I am a first year college music theory student and do not have much experience with piano. Any tips? Like studying fingerings or exercises? I love melody ideas and being creative
It very much depends on the level you're at. If you're really completely new then I'd say take a look at my piano for beginners' course (it's here, on UA-cam, entirely free: ua-cam.com/play/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs.html is the playlist link). If you're not completely new - and I'm guessing you're not, if you're studying music theory - then maybe take a look at the later lessons in that course. Either way, scales are ALWAYS going to help, so work on those, but in general I'd say find some actual music you like and practise that. If you can, work in some classical pieces: they are superb for building basic skills. And feel free to ask if you have any other questions!
Really love your teaching. Big thanks. When playing a 2nd or 3rd inversion chord with octaves in the left hand, that makes for a chord with 3, 3rds or 5ths, assuming you also play one with the right hand. Do you adjust for that ever or is it generally not a problem having so many 3rds or 5ths?
You're welcome, Steve! Generally not, at least when you're improvising on a piano - if you were scoring something for orchestra there are more rules/guidelines to follow. On the piano you can usually get away with using your ear. One guideline that might be worth bearing in mind is "watch the thirds" - if you're in first inversion AND have a lot of thirds in the upper structure it can do funny things with the chord's identity and tonality, especially if it's minor. Otherwise, trust your ears unless someone offers you an orchestration job!
@@BillHilton cheers! I have a rock / blues background and play guitar but I’ve been doing some scoring lately and doubling thirds and fifths have come up in my studies. Trust your ear is always good advice!
@@knuck75 Absolutely! If you’re scoring stuff out rather than improvising it’s always worth bearing the doubling rules in mind, even if you choose not to use them in individual instances, because they’ll usually give you the best sound. However when you’re just jamming along you’ve got enough to think about without worrying about the details of chord structures 😂 Give me a shout if there’s anything else I can help with!
Great Video, I'm just starting out playing piano but have created many song melodies without formal training. What tools would you recommend to memorize Major Chords with a related left hand Bass line?
Thank you! In terms of memorising major chords (or any chords, in fact, major, minor, sevenths, diminisheds or whatever) I actually made a tutorial on that very subject a couple of weeks ago: “The BEST Way To Learn Chords”
ua-cam.com/video/XCW1i-bIhGU/v-deo.html. In terms of bass lines, you might find this useful: ua-cam.com/video/QOMh4SLH-vY/v-deo.html
Merci beaucoup for this. It was slightly above my pay grade after only one month of piano lessons. But I keep coming back since you have a nice way of explaining things that give me hopr for the future.
Like a significant minority of people, I am colour blind. It was only towards the end that I noticed that that colour was also used over the black keys. I have a hard time with blues, and also red and green. Could you start using yellow since it would be easier to see with the black keys?
I've been working on dichromatic chords for only about a week and want to also incorporate inversions. Do you have to write them out to build up your patterns?
Thanks for this Bill, I think I might be brave enough to give a bit of improvisation a whirl. Question for you, is it cheating or bad practice to to play a chord like Dm7 with your right hand using your thumb to play the C and D simultaneously?
You're welcome, Mark! Nope, it's not cheating - you'll often find piano composers, especially the later Romantic ones, writing chords that force you to do that. But, on the whole it's not considered ideal unless you have to do it, but that's more because you're likely to run into problems with evenness and control, which begin to matter when you're playing chords at a higher level. So I wouldn't worry about doing it occasionally, but it's probably not a good idea to depend on it as your only way of playing particular chords: I'd be sure to thoroughly practise the "proper" way as well. Does that help?
@@BillHilton great, thanks for the reply. I’ll endeavour not to be lazy 😀
@@markwatson3076 No problem - shout if you have any more questions, and if you record anything feel free to wing it over/tag me/whatever!
great.
Amazing
I am interested in the ebooks! I might get them but I need to feel a bit more confident with reading music! I have a question as well, How much should I worry about when purchasing a piano as a beginner? Have you made a video on this topic before? I'd love to hear your opinion as I don't mind spending more for a piano but I am not sure if spending more than $500 is doing too much. Should I be looking for something cheaper, as a beginner? I love your videos and thank you!
I'm really glad you like the videos! Yes, the books and Piano Packs do need a certain amount of confidence with reading music, so it's probably a good idea to work on your skills a little before getting started on them. I haven't made a tutorial on piano buying simply because it would get old quite fast (!) but right now, the $500 mark would certainly get you something playable - the lower end of the Casio range is pretty good these days. If you're prepared to go second hand, than $500 might get you something from Yamaha or (even better) one of the Roland FP series, which are truly excellent. The main thing you're looking for in a digital piano is 88 full size, weighted keys and at least a sustain (right) pedal. Sustain and a soft pedal would be even better. Good luck, and let me know how you get on!
@@BillHilton I appreciate your reply Bill! Thank you, I'll let you know what I end up choosing!
@@BillHilton Hey! I ended up getting the Roland FP-30X! I'm having a good time with it so far. Definitely above the $500 budget but I honestly think it was worth it.
@@swaguilar_ Good call! Yes, you'll definitely find it's worth it - in terms of bang-for-buck the Roland FPs are very hard to beat. Let me know how you get on!
@@BillHilton For sure! I'm just going to try to be consistent like you said in your latest video. 🙌
A7 is the secondary dominant here
Wow, great explanation. I need to try this soon! 🤩👍🏻
Thank you - let me know how you get on, and give me a shout if you have any questions!
@@BillHilton Thanks Bill!
Great ty! I play guitar. Is it common to combine the major and locroan mode in classical music?
I had the notion that 2nd inversion chords may be misleading, having the 5th on the bass is only "allowed" in dominant chords? It is just a rule to be broken?
Morning - sorry for the delay replying to this: I'm just going through old comments! There are some fairly complex "rules" around voice leading (to use the technical term) but nothing I've ever come across that stipulates you can only use second inversion on the V chord, so you're good to use it with any function as far as I'm concerned. It's worth being mindful of the very striking nature of 2nd inversion, though!
Hi Bill is there any way I can take online lessons from you??
I'd love to, Farshid, but right now I'm fully stacked out with work projects - I might have some availability in the new year, though, so it's worth checking back if you're still looking then!
Hi Bill, I’ve been following your channel for quite a few years now and love your content. Finally bought all your books in the bundle yesterday. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words, Derek, and also thanks very much for buying the books - I really hope you find them useful. Any questions you have about anything in them, or about piano, chords, improvisation, music theory etc etc in general, just give me a shout!
In which of your Books can I find this Tools?
Thanks for your interest, Dieter! There's nothing exactly like this in any of the books (except, partially, in Seven Studies in Pop Piano, which uses some 1564 progressions). However, you might find quite a lot of useful material in the various collections on my Patreon at www.patreon.com/billhilton such as my Piano Packs and the Exercises, Inventions and Ideas series.
Can i use a borrowed chord with this ??
Music conjured in my mind: songs off Richard Wright's Wet Dream and Wagon Wheel.
Prince purple rain
Wish you would put letters on your notes It would help a lot
More like bungle geoffrey
I mean, I don't recommend hitting the piano with a hammer like that. Just sayin..
I need your email