Tom Donald: Now that we've learned the seven chords
of the scale.
And we've applied it.
And we've added dissonance.
And we played a couple of songs.
Now there is some very, very important details
that we need to study.
So this video is very important
because this and the next sequence of videos
is going to be very important because I'm going to show you
how to play all of the scales on the piano.
And scales can be grouped into two categories.
There are scales that have sharps in them.
And there are scales that have flats in them.
And sharps and flats depict the black keys on the piano.
So the black keys on the piano
can have two names.
They can either be a sharp or they can be a flat.
And we'll get into more details with that soon
as I show you all of the scales.
So just to recap.
We already know our C Major scale.
Let's just drill over that now.
First three fingers.
And then the thumb goes under.
And then I go back down.
Left hand.
Starting with the fifth finger.
Third finger over.
First three fingers.
And then thumb under.
You'll notice
that the left hand
is reversed
over the right hand because both hands
mirror each other.
So when the right hand goes up
first three fingers and thumb
that's the same as the left hand
going down.
First three fingers and thumb.
By the way, in the piano we refer to our thumb as a finger.
Because we need all the fingers
we can get on this instrument.
So, let's now try some of the other scales
and a very good way to describe all the set of scales
is to refer to them as the circle of fifths
because that is the system behind all of our scales.
So the next scale,
the neighbor of C Major scale
in the circular fifths is G Major.
So G Major
is up five notes.
We've done this one earlier.
We're going to do it again now.
So G Major.
Think of it as if the scales lived on a street
with each other.
G Major is the neighbor of C Major because
they have the same common notes except one note.
Only one note is different between the two scales.
So the sound properties are very similar.
So we start with
G Major.
Which starts on the G.
G Major has an F Sharp in it.
And this sharp, that we've added to G Major
is the second last note of the scale.
Here is the F sharp.
Now we call this an F Sharp
because the sequence of notes is G
A
B
C
D
E
F Sharp
G
F Sharp
E
D
C
B
A
G
It's the notes that are going up
in a linear pattern.
E, F Sharp, G.
We couldn't call this G Flat,
So a flat is to the left of the note.
We couldn't call this a G Flat
because we already have a G in the scale.
We have a G.
Natural.
This normal G here.
So we couldn't call this G Flat.
We would have to call it F Sharp.
So it's consistent.
So to put that in a more logical way.
If you haven't quite understood or grasped
what makes a sharp or a flat,
a sharp is to the right of the note
and a flat is to the left of the note.
So for instance if I wanted to call this
C Sharp,
it's to the right of C.
If I wanted to call this D Flat.
It's to the left of D,
so it effectively has two names.
And we decide which name we call it,
depending on which scale we played.
So let's do G Major on the left hand.
G
A
B
C
D
E
F Sharp
G
F Sharp
E
the same fingering applies to all of these scales.
First.
All the fingers.
Third finger over.
And back down again.
So now let's play the seven chords of G Major.
I'm gonna shift it all down an octave
because it sounds a bit richer down here.
Chord I
Chord II
Chord III
Now notice I have to use the F Sharp
because G Major has an F Sharp in it
not an F Natural.
It would sound like this otherwise
which is not what we're after.
Doesn't fit.
So chord I
chord II
Chord III
G Major.
Chord IV of G Major.
Chord V of G Major.
Chord VI of G Major.
Chord VII of G Major
which starts on the F Sharp.
The Diminished Chord.
And chord I again we return to.
And the same,
because we're following the exact major scale
the same pattern
of I, IV, V,
being Major,
and II, III, VI being minor is maintained.
So, let's do that with the left hand now
four times in the right once in the left.
Very good way of practice it.
Now let's look at D Major scale.
So D Major is the neighbor of G Major.
Here it is.
D Major.
So D Major.
You keep the F Sharp,
the first of the three black keys,
that was in G Major.
We keep the F Sharp
and we add a new sharp.
C Sharp.
So we have two sharps in this scale.
F Sharp,
C Sharp.
Let's play the scale.
D
E
F Sharp
G, thumb under
A
B
C Sharp
D, going back down.
C Sharp
B
A
G
F Sharp
E
D
Left hand.
D
E
F Sharp
G
A
B
C Sharp
D
C Sharp
B
A
G
F Sharp
E
D
Now let's do this as the seven chords.
You will need to repeat this a few times
if you are a beginner
if you've played piano before
and you know all of these scales
you'll be able to skip some of this
and if you are familiar with your scales
you can get straight to practicing them
as the seven chords without having to
practice just the scale.
Some of you want to do both
and this depends on what level you're up to.
If you're a complete beginner though
just follow the procedures we're doing now
but just add lots of repetition.
Were are working on our mental skills here.
On our muscle memory.
And our muscle memory needs repetition
just like going to a gym and doing an exercise.
You need to repeat it three or four times.
You would do that three of four times.
So now, the D Major scale in chords,
Chord I
We've got the F Sharp in chord I.
Because now we've got F Sharp and C Sharp in the scale.
So we're replacing F and C with F Sharp and C Sharp.
Chord I
With F Sharp.
Chord II
There is no sharps in chord II.
Chord III
We use both Sharps.
F Sharp and C Sharp.
Chord IV
No Sharps.
Chord V
We've got the C Sharp.
Gets tricky now.
Chord VI.
We've got the F Sharp.
Chord VII
we've got the C Sharp.
Diminished chord.
And chord I again with the F Sharp.
So we have to integrate the F Sharp and the C Sharp
into the scale.
It's no more just white keys anymore
we're now moving across the piano and we're integrating
our sharps
and natural notes
together and that just creates, really what playing piano
is all about.
The integration of the keys.
So let's try that again.
D Major.
Chord I.
Chord II, E Minor.
Chord III, F Sharp Minor.
Chord IV, G Major.
Chord V, A Major.
Chord VI, B minor.
Chord VII, C Sharp Diminished.
Chord I, D Major.
Excellent.
Now, let's do a recap of all the keys we've done so far.
C Major, chord I.
We're going back to C Major scale here.
Back to the C Major honeymoon.
C Major, chord I.
D Minor, chord II.
E Minor, chord III.
F Major, chord IV.
G Major, chord V.
A Minor, chord VI.
B Diminished, chord VII.
And then C Major, chord I.
Now let's go to the G Major scale.
G Major, chord I.
A Minor, chord II.
B Minor, chord III.
C Major, chord IV.
D Major, chord V.
E Minor, chord VI.
F Sharp Diminished, chord VII.
And G Major, chord I.
Now let's go to D Major.
D Major, chord I.
E Minor, chord II.
F Sharp Minor, chord III.
G Major, chord IV.
A Major, chord V.
B Minor, chord VI.
C Sharp Diminished, chord VII.
D Major, chord I.
Let's go through some of the other sharps now.
A Major.
So now I'm gonna show you
the rest of the scales on the sharps.
Hold your hats.
It gets fun now.
A Major has three sharps in it.
Let's start on this A.
A below
middle C.
You can also start on this one though.
A above middle C.
Let's say the A below middle C.
I prefer lower.
A Major, has a C Sharp.
Keeping the C Sharp from the previous scale, D Major.
F Sharp,
which was also in G Major and D Major,
and G sharp is the new Sharp.
G Sharp.
And so we go to A.
B
C Sharp
D
E
F Sharp
G Sharp
A
You might see a pattern emerging,
that you're keeping the sharps from the previous
scales because they're neighbors to each other
in this street of scales.
And we're adding a new sharp,
but keeping the previous sharps
that were in the neighboring scales.
A
B
C Sharp
D
E
F Sharp
G Sharp, A, left hand.
A, B, C Sharp,
D, E, F Sharp,
G Sharp
A
And you notice I'm using the same fingering
that I used on C Major.
First three fingers, thumb under.
And the left hand starting with the fifth finger.
The third finger going over.
So now when we add the seven chords of A Major
every chord will now have a sharp in it.
So this one is, we're really crossing the bridge
into more advanced piano playing
where we're integrating our sharps into our playing.
Chord I
A Major.
So it has the C Sharp in it.
Chord II, B Minor
with the F Sharp at the top of it.
Chord III
C Sharp Minor.
It has two sharps in it,
C Sharp and G Sharp.
Chord IV.
D Major.
With the F Sharp in it.
Chord V, E Major with the G Sharp in it.
Chord VI, F Sharp Minor
with the F Sharp and the C Sharp in it.
Chord VII, G Sharp Diminished with G Sharp, B and D.
And chord I at the top.
A Major, with a C Sharp in it.
This is a very good way to practice our scales.
I'm gonna do that one again.
Chord I.
Chord II.
Chord III.
Chord IV.
Chord V.
Chord VI.
Chord VII.
Chord I at the top.
So it's getting much harder.
Let's now try E Major,
the next scale of the sharps.
E
F Sharp
G Sharp
A
B
C Sharp
D Sharp
E
D Sharp
C Sharp
B
A
G Sharp
F Sharp
B
And let's do the left hand as well.
So what is a scale?
A scale is a group of notes that fit together.
A family of notes.
And that's all we're learning right now.
We're learning each family of notes.
I'll do the left hand one more time.
Cause your left hand might need a bit more work
than your right hand.
Particularly, if you're right handed.
Same fingering applies.
Start it with the fifth finger
and the left hand.
Starting with the thumb.
In the right hand.
The seven chords of E Major.
Chord I
E Major.
Chord II
F Sharp Minor.
There are two sharps in it.
Chord III
G Sharp Minor.
There are two sharps in it.
Chord IV
A Major.
Chord V
B Major, which has two sharps in it.
Chord VI
C Sharp Minor.
With two sharps in it.
Chord VII, D Sharp Diminished with two sharps in it.
Chord I, E Major.
I'm just gonna play that with the right hand.
I'm gonna break the chord up now.
Just so you can see it really clearly on the screen.
Chord I
Chord II
Chord III
Chord IV
Chord V
Chord VI
broken chords is a very good way to practice.
Chord VII
Chord I at the top.
E Major.
Did you get all of that?
Now if you're struggling with that
don't worry, you're not alone.
It probably means that you just need a bit more time
practicing these scales.
So if that all makes sense to you,
move on on the next video.
But if this doesn't make sense to you,
I'm gonna go over all those scales all over again
for you, and just so you can spend some time practicing
the scales not as full chords
just a single note scales,
so your muscle memory can start to memorize them.
So daily repetition of these exercises,
is crucial in your journey to understanding
how the piano works.
So, I'm just going to run through all these scales
right hand, left hand,
not as chords, just as scales,
to refresh your memory and to really help you practice
and support your practicing.
C Major.
Left hand C Major.
G Major
with the F Sharp.
G Major
left hand
D Major
with F Sharp.
And C Sharp.
Left hand D Major
with F Sharp and C Sharp.
A Major
with C Sharp, F sharp and G Sharp.
A Major
left hand
C Sharp
F Sharp
and G Sharp.
E Major.
With F Sharp, G Sharp, C Sharp and D Sharp.
Might sound harder these scales,
when I talk about all these sharps.
Left hand.
But actually,
they fit the shape of our hands
much better than the scales that just have one keys in them.
That's why the black keys are lifted on the piano.
So that shape of their hands
can curve a bit more.
And that's more natural to the human hand.
So actually, in the long run
these guys are easier.
The fit the shape of our hand.
The piano's been designed like that,
with that specific reason in mind.
Before the keys were just flat.
Our fingers would have to be flat.
And that's harder.
It's harder to play with flat fingers.
And I'll show you one other scale,
which we didn't get to earlier.
B Major,
because it has all of the sharps in it.
All of the black keys.
So this is really fun.
It actually is the easiest scale on the piano.
Chopin used to teach his students this scale first
because he thought it was the most appropriate
scale to show a beginner on the piano first.
Because you look at C Major.
I mean it's beginner's luck,
because it's just all white keys
and you don't really have to think
about the shape,
but when you get to B Major,
it's just fits the hand beautifully.
So B Major
we start on the B.
We have B
C Sharp
D Sharp
thumb under on the E
F Sharp
G Sharp
A Sharp
B
So the only two white notes in the scale
are B and E.
This is a lovely scale to sit there
and just improvise on,
just put your foot on the pedal,
you just listen to all of those notes
combined with each other.
Sounds really beautiful.
A trick with that
you can just a do a completely separate improvisation
exercise is to play all the black keys
on the piano
sounds very pentatonic
but then you add the B and E
with these two white keys with it,
and you've got some lovely
floaty
B Major sounds.
Anyway, let's return back to work now.
Now the left hand of B Major
is an exception with the fingering because
if we use this standard fingering
starting with the fifth finger,
fourth finger,
third finger,
second finger and then the thumb,
the thumb would end up here on an F Sharp,
which is a bit uncomfortable.
So let's improve the fingering.
Let's start with the fourth finger instead.
Four
three
two
one
And then put the fourth finger
over so you don't run out of fingers,
four
three
two
one
And that way the thumb always ends up
on the white keys,
which is much more appropriate
to the shape of our hands.
Four
three
two
one
four
three
two
one
two
three
four
one
two
three
four
that's the fingering.
I'll do it again.
Start with the fourth finger.
That's the ring finger.
That's the weakest finger we have
and particularly on the left hand.
So you might need to use,
your wrist and your arm,
and really relax your wrist all the time
when we play piano.
To really get the strength out of the fingers.
Then the right hands, B Major.
Back to the standard fingering thumb.
One, two,
three, thumb under again,
it just fits the hands beautifully, this scale,
B Major.
Such a magical scale.
But the seven chords of B Major.
A little more tricky to find
because you really have to see
where the notes fit.
B Major, chord I
C Sharp Minor, chord II
You can have your thumb on the black keys,
when you're playing the chords.
That's okay.
D Sharp Minor, chord three.
E Major, chord IV.
F Sharp Major, chord V
All sharps.
G Sharp Minor, chord VI
A Sharp Minor.
Sorry, A Sharp Diminished.
This is Diminished.
A Sharp Diminished, chord VII.
And B Major, chord I at the top.
So we have covered all of the scales.
That's half of all major scales.
50% of them,
in this one tutorial.
We've covered them as scales
and as chords.
That's a lot of work.
Some people have studied the piano for years
and they come to my studio in Mayfair
and they don't even know all of these things
and we have just covered them,
in just a short amount of time.
So don't be surprised if it's going to take
you a while to get all of those scales
shapes into your muscle memory.
Go back and repeat.
Go rewind through the video
and focus on two or three scales a day.
Or sometimes just one or two a day.
If that's a better, appropriate speed for your learning.
G Major, D Major for Monday.
D Major, A Major, for Tuesday.
Something like that.
Really take your time because I really
compressed this information
into a very comprehensive video.
I look forward to the next part.
I've got a couple of more short cuts to show you.
Stay tuned.
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