Oh hey hi hello how are you today? GO PRACTICE THE PIANO. If you need a boost, a kick in the ol' behind, or perhaps just access to my entire course library ALSO, check out betterpiano.com/ FIRST LIVE STREAM HAPPENS TOMORROW

@jamesspiecher571

Ай бұрын

@Better-Piano I don't play piano.

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

@@jamesspiecher571 WELL YOU SHOULD BECAUSE IT'S FUN

@jamesspiecher571

Ай бұрын

@@Better-Piano Fun... Really? I have a piano in the basement... But I don't play it.

@febilogi

Ай бұрын

​@@jamesspiecher571 😂

@marcrubenstahl7276

8 күн бұрын

C13 - you could also say C13=C7/Dm (Dm over C7)

Oh hey, I use this trick too! What a coincidence!

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

No you do not, stop lying

@Mike-rw2nh

Ай бұрын

🤣

@ln5466

Ай бұрын

Love u charles

@lordneeko

Ай бұрын

He's talking to himself folks...he's losing it

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

@@lordneeko Trust me that ship has sailed

more late intermediate to early advanced content PLEASE

@ChannelCez

15 күн бұрын

this.

Learning piano has really opened my eyes to harmony. Playing guitar for years and being lazy with not learning the notes, my brain always melted when someone said “yeah, but this chord also works over this chord” ***Edit: opened my….. ears?***

@jasona.1333

21 күн бұрын

I think opening up your mind is more appropriate😅

@EcoCentrist

20 күн бұрын

nice! now take that knowledge back to guitar, it opens up a whole world of inversions and chords that only people who reach that level of understanding get to use

Thanks, Charles! This video is like a confirmation for something i had always suspected - that every fancy chord and voicing is really just a chord over another chord. Great work with the new channel for more intermediate piano nerds like us.

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Thanks for being here! Chords really are just that easy. Until they're not. But then they still kinda are. Idk, music is cool

Been using this method for a long time and it’s really great for remembering voicings and transposing as well. Charles spilling insider secrets!😂

I was barely able to follow but I was so amused to see Charles geek out over this that I think I might have learned something.

@JD-xo3xz

18 күн бұрын

Same here. Hoping that if I subscribe for a membership, there will be sections that can explain this a bit ssslower and clearer. It does look simple once I can get it through my thick skull.

the best tutor for piano & understanding theory on KZread I found till date, I can't even tell how much I learned from Charles.

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Wow! I appreciate the kind words!

Another nice thing about this way of thinking is you can take the upper structure chord in your right hand and use different inversions of it while keeping the left hand the same, now you have a hunch of ways of voicing the same chord without thinking too hard and without unbalancing the harmonic structure, since the foundational left hand part stays the same but the more "harmonically decorative" upper notes can change while keeping their own independent structure as an inverted triad/7th chord

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Arpeggios too! Defining that chord on top gives you so much freedom to create really interesting lines and ornamentations

And, as demonstrated, this is a great chord to just move around the register.

The explanation of why sus13 is awesome, the whole time screaming at my 'that's the Mr Rogers theme song sound in one chord!'

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

True! Although that one's even cooler because you just hold that sus chord and then run triads right up the keyboard! If you want to get SUPER nerdy, you could analyze what each triad does to change the functionality of that chord as you go 😂

Not only did I enjoy this a lot, but more importantly it's *immediately* helpful to me and will directly impact the way I approach chords from now on! Thank you for this! If we could get more of these, maybe cover the way you think about the most essential chord relationships (a few that are used the most, or the most interesting ones) and see how it's received by the community? Really enjoying the content on this channel so far :)

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Great idea.

Mind…. Shattered. I love you dude

This is a concept I've been working on with my piano students for the last few weeks. Wonderful video!

This is a really useful way to think about chord shapes! In my experience as a pianist this method helps a ton in remembering and analyzing chords, and fuels creativity and exploration as well. I love your videos, I've pretty much watched all of them! Congrats on the new channel!

This channel is a fantastic addition to your arsenal. Bravo, good sir. 👏👏👏

Thank you so much Charles, these are little tricks I use all the time, so great - and man, can I just say that I've been loving your content since I started watching your videos as a bassist in 2020 and have been a real inspiration for me to start playing the piano, thank you so much sir ❤

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, for real. It's so easy to feel like I'm making content and just sending it out into the abyss. It's just the nature of everyone being behind a screen. So hearing this means a ton, thank you! Just getting started 🤜

It’s my go-to for changing keys; its a great leading chord and its crunchy enough that you can jump to it from basically anywhere! headed to F? Play BbM7/C! “But I’m in the key of B major!” No problem! 🙌🙌

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Exactly!!

I've noticed the chord-over-chord pattern before, but I never thought to actually make a mental note of them for easy transposition. Looking forward to what this new channel will bring!

5:47 “haha, yes” *adorable hedgehoging intensifies*

This is the way I largely conceptualized chords when I was younger. Eventually, I dropped the whole idea of chords as a whole in favor of intervals since thinking in terms of closed voice triads and sevenths is very limiting. That sus13 chord to me is conceptualized as a large stack of fifths all played over the third fifth in the series. Bb, F, C, G, D, A all over a C bass. When you think of them each as pairs like this and account for their inversions (perfect fourths), you can intuitively open or close voicings at will. So if I wanted to open that chord up, I'd immediately recognize that two fifths can be stacked to make C, G, and D. The next fifth A can be inverted and played next to the G leaving only the Bb and F to be played by the right hand in whatever configuration i want. If I wanted an A on top, I could go Bb, F, A to complete the chord which could be thought of as the outline of a Bb maj7, but then if I wanted to put a C on top by playing F, Bb, C you would have to reconceptualize it as an Fsus4 which is a much bigger departute than Bb and F plus one other note.

Love upper structure triads. There’s a bunch that also work great with the 1 and 7 or the guide tones in the left hand as well

This is the literal concept I just came across a couple of weeks ago. Haven't been able to keep my hands off the keyboard since!

It's cool how you can make modal sounds by using pentatonics that borrow from other scales (Like a D major pentatonic over a Cmaj7 or something to make it sound lydian). I think McCoy Tyner liked to do that a lot if I'm correct. Kinda the same idea as this video. Would also like to know if you've got a system on how to finger pentatonics. If you've got the definitively least stupid way to do this in all 12 keys you would be a magical beacon of hope to lost and confused pianists such as myself. Sincerely, a lost and confused pianist

That's so perfect . As a shortcut . Thank you so much

I didn't realize you were doing this, and I've been wanting to learn piano for a while. Will definitely be checking out your website and course when my schedule frees up here soon!

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Even if you just start with this channel, I'm planning on doing a TON to help! So, get after it! Then, if you make it over to the new community eventually, awesome!! But I'm just glad you're here, first and foremost.

while playing that c chord over and over my brain kept wanting it to go into snes rainbow road

my favorite chord within chord is play any 7 chord in your left hand and branching from the note thats a semitone down from the 7 you play a sus4 chord…really pretty :)

Love the way you explained this! I’ve also been exploring and fascinated by these types of discoveries… Khordmaster approved! ✅

This is a fantastic video. I would love a longer video with some more cool examples 🔥

what a great explanation

I think having the most ways to think about a concept is beneficial for growth. I also think of chords as scales, and voicings as limiters to melodic options. I love to hear another perspective greatly communicated on such an important concept, thank you :)

LMAO I was really hoping this was a riff on that quote from Tropic Thunder so I’m glad that came up

One of the most inspiring videos i've seen in a while. Might even apply this on guitar!

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Would LOVE to hear how this can be applied to guitar! Guitar chord voicings are so fascinating to me. They sound so different to piano voicings because of obvious physical differences in the instrument, but it makes for some REALLY beautiful voicings! Playing guitar voicings on piano is always a neat tool to try new sounds.

This is my absolute favorite chord/voicing. Wrote 2 whole songs around it

I have thought about this before. I always had a formal for major 7s and 6/9 chords

Thanks for this excellent video. 👏🏿 Yep. This works.

I’d like to see a video on creating more complex chord progressions than triads in the key of C like every other video. Use an uncommon key like Ab minor. Go beyond 1-4-5 and ii-V-I. Also harmonic rhythm!

Thanks bro

b 7 maj7 over I 5. ( power chord ) I taught this way for complex chords

Yep, this has change my building of chords with my hands

This, is exactly IT! Thank you. I might suggest that the pianist could also take a punt with an associated scale based on the right-hand shape.

Alright, you got me. I just subscribed. Great video. Thank you for the tips.

Charles is making me a sus13 fan too, think it’s my fav chord now

Basically how an Amin and Cmaj are the same chord just adding more notes.

Thank you Charles always amazing videos ! How to do it now if you need those voicings type but in a rootless setting with a bass player ?

@Icthi

24 күн бұрын

Take away the root and use your ears

Excelente 😊 thanks a lot

Really cool

I make my pedal point left hand with a mandatory dominant 7, and if i were to play chords like; #9 #11 i do 1-5 and b7 in left hand, in the right i play the 3rd note minor or in chord context, key of C, the dominant is V, Bbm/G7. In b9b13 i do the same 1-5-b7 in LH, and #1minor in right, in same key and context, Abm/G.

commenting for the algo boost! also charles can you post more videos of you just playing? maybe on a third channel or smth idk

Great idea! Could also be looked at as C7 UNDER Dm (omitting the 3 in C7). Since we use the concept of OVER as in C7 OVER Bb why not introduce the concept of UNDER as well? I suggest the notation C7!2m for the concept.

I prefer to analyze that C7sus4 (9, 11, 13) as Gm9/C (easy, too), which makes more sense in terms of its function (iim7 over V) and also for improvisation. On a chart, I like to see G-9/C, not BbMaj7/C.

0:50 - and this right here is something I never knew. I never knew the 7, 9, and 11 were implied on a sus 13

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

I'm actually not sure if this is necessarily a "rule" of music theory, but it's the practical application of everything I've ever played in jazz literally ever. Like, it's the easiest to explain and just assume to be true. If you operate by the rule, you'll always be playing the "correct" sound! I guess in a way, it just means that if there's MEANT to be a different alteration, then the chord symbol will specify that.

@zenwheat

Ай бұрын

@@Better-Piano That makes sense. It's a useful assumption that I didn't consider before today.

Duly noted.

when you know something but don't know you know it the entire dang time. wild. Amazing you your brain 'locks onto' a concept. I'm in the key of C, I must play C chords, never had my brain said 'oh hey those notes you added are x' Neat.

You see.. You've always kind of reminded me of Jay Metcalf. You know, Better Sax and Better Trax. When I saw Better Piano, I thought it was another one of Jay's channels, but with an arbitrary switch of focus from Saxophone and Jazz to Piano and.. Jazz?

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Oh interesting! I honestly didn't even think about that, but now that you mention it, I've definitely seen Better Sax out there before!

Are you going to sell a membership course?

I do the same. For almost 30yrs. Thought I was cheating, cause my Music Education major focused more on the functional harmony pre-20th century, and I needed a way to hang in jazz combos and rock bands (cause you rhythm section guys learn this in your instrument instruction).

+13 sounds to me like it could be used as a melodic minor, a passing chord or to modulate. Opinions please. Sax player learning keys🙂

Holy Shite!! Kinda over my head but way cool.

So, you're basically explaining the principle of polychords, yes? Chords on chords on chords. 😎

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

More or less! Except, diving into that goes much much deeper and gets far more complicated. I thought we'd wait a bit before we dive into C over B as stacked triads 😂

This is kinda good but its better imo to ear train and know the # system if you want me to be quite honest.

Question: Could you also think of this chord as a 2 chord over a major 7 sus4, assuming both chords are in the same key? Using that idea, the first chord at 1:23 would be D-minor over C7-sus4. D-minor is the 2 chord for C. Also, at 7:37, could that be considered a F7 flat 4?

@Better-Piano

28 күн бұрын

Yes! And that's the fun of creating your own ways to think about these things- There isn't one way to do it and it just comes down whatever makes the most sense for you! If it makes it quicker and easier to find the voicings you want to play, then it's the right approach.

Rookie Question- why do you use Bb in a C Major scale? Why flat the 7th? Is that a normal thing to do? Otherwise, rookie me is expecting C Maj to be all the white keys. I learn the scales,,, and then make changes to that pattern..?.. Lots to learn about music. Thanks in advance to whomever has the answer.

Alright, I was skeptical about a new channel. Turns out that was foolish to assume. Great video Charles!

@Better-Piano

28 күн бұрын

I see you, 40 hrs a day

@Whatismusic123

26 күн бұрын

This is garbage

I took music theory in college and didn’t learn any of these jazzy chords. 😢

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

Your music theory didn't jazz hard enough. It's ok, we'll jazz as hard as you want here!

Piano? More like piayes! Probs chuckled for at least a millisecond.

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

I laughed for at least 3!

@takemebacktothen

Ай бұрын

bruh

@Penguimus

Ай бұрын

“❤” (3 hours ago)

@Penguimus

Ай бұрын

Welp… a WiN’s A wIn.!.!

Yeap, seems I'm on the right track, just 30 years late

It's funny how the experienced musicians are so used to finding chords the traditional way, while this seems pretty common to people like me who take shortcuts because our brains are slow and dumb

@Better-Piano

28 күн бұрын

Your brain is fast and smart!

@kozmobluemusic

23 күн бұрын

it’s not a shortcut… understanding the fundamental core concept is being efficient 😉

I would've pissed off all my teaches had this been out when i was in pointless theory school school 🤦🏾‍♂...so many doors unlocked !!!!1

Going down a level, one of the biggest revelations I had was realising major and minor chords are composed of major and minor intervals, and then going more granular that these intervals themselves are present as harmonics in single notes!

@wangtao5380

27 күн бұрын

Can you please explain a bit more?

@NOLASkaGuitarist

26 күн бұрын

@@wangtao5380 The harmonic series is a set of frequencies that are potentially sounding on top (and the sub harmonic below) of the fundamental note (prominent frequency or note you hear when you play a pitch on an instrument) of a given string, tine, or horn. The first harmonic above the fundamental is the octave, followed by a 12th (perfect 5th) and then a 15th (octave) and then a major 17th (major 3rd), then a 19th (5th again) followed by an out of tune minor 21st (minor 7th). The series continues on, but the audibility (and relation to the major triad) of each harmonic diminishes with each step above the fundamental if coming from a natrual source. The primary harmonics in the series contain the notes of the major triad, so if a source is harmonically rich enough, you can actually hear a major chord by playing one note. This is easiest done with a Hammond style drawbar organ, in which you can manually control the amount of each harmonic with the drawbar, allowing you to get unnatural levels of harmonic content in one note. So, the major chord is kind of a product of the universe (or probably just good mathematical relationships in terms of frequency ratio - 4:5:6)

@alamolalamol9426

26 күн бұрын

I understand the first part of what u say here - I think in this way also - I too would be interested in what you mean in the second part 'granular' etc..?

13 only implies 7. C13 is just C7 with a 13, no?

@Better-Piano

Ай бұрын

See, I mentioned to someone else that I wasn't sure if this is necessarily a "rule" in music theory. For me, it's just something that's always been the easiest way to think about it, because it'll always yield the "correct" result. Another way to look at it is, you can assume every upper extension note is "in there," and if the chord requires an alteration to any specific one, it'll specify that. At least, that's how I've always thought about and applied it! Another way I think about it is, the chord should be able to be completed into a full scale. So, unless the chord symbol tells me which notes to use to complete that full scale, I'm going to make assumptions about what it wants. If I saw C13, I'm probably going to assume Mixolydian for both line playing/improvising and voicings, because it didn't tell me to do anything specific with the 11th or the 9th. If I play Lydian dominant over that C13, then I'm technically turning the chord into a C13#11, you know? Sorry for the long explanation, I'm kind of thinking out loud, too 😂I'm sure others think of it differently!

@apparentlybrian

25 күн бұрын

C13 is commonly C, E, G, Bb, D, F, A in my universe. The dominant 7, 9 and 11 hitch a ride. I see guitarists using C7(add 13) or just C7(13) if they want a C7 with an A on top and I like that clarity. Lately there's this cheeky new way of writing it, thinking of the 13 as equivalent to the 6: C7/6. But my brain wants the A on the bottom if I see that, whereas if I see C7(13) I know it's the C7 with the A on top. Finally C7(add 6) is for me the clustered C,E,G,A,Bb.

Has better piano stolen this video? Why is it on another channel?

@beerhappe5006

24 күн бұрын

11:45. It’s his channel

This seems like a lesson that would’ve happened years ago. Surprised just getting to it. There’s a ton of these.. just sit at the piano and find them. It’s so much better imo to discover things for yourself. I’ve taught myself enough to create a ton of tutorials, but then i’d be a hypocrite telling others it’s best to figure it out on their own. There’s something about seeing “tricks” like this spoon fed that strikes me as removing the essential joy of discovery we’re all capable of, and I fear AI is removing this joy and will increasingly remove so many creative joys from humans both on an individual level and on a cultural level that we’ve not yet really grasped. It’s not a good trend imo. I wish everyone would value discovering things on their own more, and return to self-teaching.

This is out of my pay grade, and I'll keep practicing my triads until I have more chops. I made the mistake of trying to understand this early on, and no one likes to listen to a crappy jazz pianist.

This video is a bit sus 😂