A new way to explore harmony at the keyboard
One of the ideas at the heart of the School of Music Theory is that theory should help us understand music more deeply - not simply give us a collection of labels to memorise. That means hearing harmony, recognising patterns, understanding how chords behave within a key, and - whenever possible - experiencing those ideas at the keyboard.
Over the past year, I’ve been working with Ruth Alberici and Garreth Brooke on a new learning resource built around exactly that idea. The Ultimate Guide to Piano Chords is designed to help pianists connect theoretical understanding with practical music-making.
The resource begins with a 94-page Core Guidebook and a 59-page Workbook in C major and A minor, taking students progressively through scales, diatonic chords, inversions, cadences, circle-of-fifths progressions, blues harmony, jazz and pop progressions, and much more.
But the aim is not simply to learn more chords. It is to begin thinking in harmony.
To recognise the structures beneath the music, hear how chords relate to one another, and become increasingly comfortable moving through a key at the piano.
The C major/A minor Workbook is the first in a planned series of 12 workbooks covering all 12 major/minor key areas, allowing the same sequence of skills to be developed gradually across the keyboard.
I’ve written more about the thinking behind the project and what it has been like developing the resource together over the past year over at Pink Piano Press.
And if you’d like to see the resource itself:
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