4.0 Pop piano primer

A piano player plays chords by feel when reading a lead sheet using shapes and target notes to make musical decisions quickly. It takes a great deal of practice to gain this type of muscle memory in all keys. The pop piano primer focuses on this skill using chord progressions that are only in the key of C. The lack of accidentals makes it easy to apply three basic shapes to play chords by feel.

• Watch the introduction video.

• Navigate the tabs to learn about different hand shapes.

• Apply the method.

PLAY-ALONG

• Play the chord progression from the video along with the backing track.

• Try it by using each shape for the first chord.

• Apply voice leading to the chord progression by using chord shapes that keep the roots of the chords closest together.