- Jack Mitchell Smith
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Take a look at the below picture of a piano keyboard:
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I often doubt that I know many if any other words that begin with the letter ‘V’ in my…repertoire of words (so nearly an own goal…)…but Visualisation is a word that comes up time and time again in lessons I give to people, and it’s a skill that I think will always benefit musicians of every walk of life. The ability to find your way around the keyboard, fretboard, valves (ooh - two words!) etc. without looking or even without playing (power of the mind!) is of enormous benefit to us musicians as it really brings a feeling of second nature to our performing when it does come time to perform.
I can’t speak too much for any other instrument apart from piano (and other keyboard based instruments, of course), but I have no doubt that all instruments have their own little quirks that can be adopted in similar ways. However, piano is a genius instrument for visualisation when it comes to reading music because:
It goes from low to high, which sounds obvious but is not necessarily the case with a lot of instruments such as winds and brass.
Notes follow one after the other in semitones, meaning that there are never any exceptions to how you count up or down certain intervals. Again, sounds obvious but, again…see previous point!
In this blog, I’d like to explore the way that we can use the power of visualisation to see how the stave and the piano keyboard work together to make sight reading less of a seemingly random chore but more of a logical, methodical and - in time - relatively straightforward task.
Stick with me as we delve into this!
What is the Stave?
The Stave / Staff (always pronounced as ‘staff’, mind’) is our familiar group of five horizontal lines on which notes are placed. The lower down on the stave a note, the lower in pitch it is and vice versa.
Now let’s take a very familiar set of notes on the stave - the C major scale.
In treble clef, reading from the bottom we will be starting with:
(middle) C, D, E, F, G, A, B .
Note how all of the notes rise up one at a time, either moving into the above gap or onto the above line.
Now play this scale.
What do you notice?
If you said you’re using entirely white keys - correct!
If you further said…there are five notes (the five black keys) that aren’t accounted for here…you would also be correct!
So in conclusion, we can safely say that the notes move up one at a time according to the key signature’s respective scale.
Note how there is no reference to any sharp or flat notes between the clef and the time signature (4/4)? That tells us automatically that we are in C major or it’s relative minor (A minor), but as both share the same rules (i.e. the same sharps and flats) then it will move logically up or down according to either scale (in the key of either C major or A minor, we’re talking white keys only).
So let’s explore how a slightly more complex scale might look and use the key signature of A major:
In the scale above, we have three sharps to identify our key signature between the clef and time: F♯, C♯ and G♯ . This creates the key of A major (reference the circle of fifths to assist if you’re unsure how to reach that conclusion).
In terms of just how the notes fall on the lines, you’ll notice exactly the same situation: they all go up one line or space at a time, thus backing up the conclusion that we move one note up at a time in the respective scale of the key (our F, C and G will all be sharps, remember!).
Needless to say, it’s a great idea to familiarise yourself with all the scales anyway! However, to make it slightly more accessible from a beginner’s standpoint then try and only sight read in keys correlating to scales you already know, or if you’re feeling a little more ambitious then try and learn the correlating scale to a new key fairly efficiently to help you sight read…
…because the following visualisation is going to come in super, super handy on that front!
Visualisation of the Stave and the Piano Keyboard
Naturally, I’m going to demonstrate this using C major to start as it is how I started previously.
As we’ve discussed, every line and space up is a new note in the scale.
So if we aligned our staff (treble clef) against a keyboard, assuming that the lower C on the diagram below is middle C, we can see how this looks:
And if I were to do the same with A major, assuming the lower A is the A just below middle C, it may look like this:
Like I say, familiarity with the scales correlating to the key signature is essential so that your rational whilst reading this is not necessarily to always jump up to the next white key. The more you practise scales, the more strongly you will identify and feel comfortable with their overall shape, making your fingers naturally want to gravitate towards the sharps or flats in question.
Visualisation in Practice
Scales
Quite often in music we are faced with ‘scalic passages’, which sounds a lot more slimy than it is.
A scalic passage is a passage that moves up and / or down the notes of the scale. This is a very basic understanding of how visualisation can work and is one that I try and encourage pupils to start adopting from the off, as opposed to always trying to identify the notes individually.
Intervals
As you start to progress, you will start to widen the jump between one note and the next, whether you play one note after another or two at the same time.
Of course, you can identify intervals by just counting the spaces and lines between (making sure to include the lines / spaces on which your bottom and top note rest):
But this isn’t the strongest visualisation.
Remember that all lines and spaces are individual notes of the scale, so bearing our scale in mind, we can immediately see ‘missed notes’ in front of us.
For example:
This would be a third because we can visually see that this is a ‘play a note, miss a note, play a note’ job.
If we see the following:
We can recognise that you are missing two notes, so play the bottom note, miss two (represented by a line and a space) then play the next.
Flipping back to the key of A major, we have to now be mindful of the A major scale:
But even without considering what sharps we need to deal with, we can see that we are missing out four notes between.
Chords
When you start to stack intervals together, it can lead the the exact same process:
Your typical triad chords are formed by playing a note, miss a note, play a note (such as C - E - G in the C major scale). So what would that look like on paper?
Well, I’m sure you already know, but here’s an example starting from middle C! -
So now you can visualise triads instantly.
Remember your sharps in A major and make sure you bear them in mind as you read the following:
It’s a play, miss a note, play, miss a note, play job again!
So in this case we’d be looking at D - F♯ and A (remember the scale!)
Strengthen Your Visualisation Even More
In order to be the absolute greatest that you can be, remember that practising and learning of piano doesn’t necessarily have to be done…at the piano.
Your mind is incredibly powerful.
Ask yourself this - can you visualise a piano keyboard? Doesn’t have to be an 88 key length, but can you at least see an octave in your mind, complete with black notes?
As you work through these intervals and chords, try and visualise the scales in your mind without playing them. This can really strengthen your natural instinct.
And if that’s a bit tricky to begin with, try printing off a blank piano keyboard and highlighting (or using pencil so you can rub it out!) the notes, intervals etc. that you wish to familiarise yourself with against what you see written on your score.
Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Congleton, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.
Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!
- Jack Mitchell Smith
- Aug 6
- 7 min read
Here we go again - finally! Another blog to welcome you back into learning piano 🤩
In this blog, I’m going to explore different types of seventh chords, all of which are going to sound great and enhance your playing and music performance.
But before we learn about finding seventh chords on piano, let’s just refresh our memory and remind ourselves how we find your standard major and minor chords:
Finding Major and Minor Triads on Piano
I have, of course, done blog posts on this before so do read up if you need a more concise explanation.
But to find any major or minor triad, we use notes 1, 3 and 5 of the respective major or minor scale.
For example, a C major scale with its degrees numbers would be:
C = 1
D = 2
E = 3
F = 4
G = 5
A = 6
B = 7
Note I’ve already underlined 1, 3 and 5, which is C, E and G respectively, thus making a C major chord from the notes in the C major scale.
Bear in mind the old adage that the only different between a major and minor chord is the middle note - note 3. This is also true of the first five notes of the scale. To create minor from major, just move the third note down by one semitone, thus creating C, E♭ and G for a C minor chord (created from the first five notes of the C minor scale: C - D - E♭ - F - G).
Why Do These Chords Sound So Good?
I refer to the major and minor triads (in both root position and in all inversions) as pure chords (you don’t need to learn that phrase - it’s a me-ism!).
But why so? Why do they sound so bright together?
The simple answer is because all notes are split apart by the minimum distance of a minor third (in the case of a root position triad, the middle and top note - such as E and G of a C major chords - are a minor third). Even when you start inverting them and changing the order of the notes, you can actually only ever increase the distance from root position!
So they will always sound good…
And it isn’t possible to add another note to that chord without creating a sort of…clash! It’s not always a hugely dissonant clash, but even if you leave a third (major or minor) between the top note and a new note, such as C - E - G - B, you’ll create a clash because of the tuning in of a frequency that is - in a different octave - right next door to our new note! (B might be nearly an octave away from C in this demonstration, but in reality B and C are neighbours and our ear can hear that desire to clash!).
However, creating seventh chords is about one of the best ways we can incorporate a pleasant clash into our chords and music, and I’m going to introduce you to not one, not two but THREE types of seventh chords for piano!
Starting with the usual seventh chord that you will see all over:
Finding Seventh Chords on Piano
All seventh chords are a four note chord, basically topping a triad with a note that is seventh degree to said triad’s respective scale.
That’s a lot of words, so let’s visualise this one step at a time using my first introduction. Not the most commonly used seventh chord, but the easiest one to explain at this time:
The Major Seventh Chord
Let’s say for arguments sake that we want to find a C major seventh chord, which would be written musically as Cmaj7 (or - less commonly - CM7, note the M being capitalised when referring to major).
Remember how we previous exemplified finding a triad for C major using degrees 1, 3 and 5 of the C major scale?
Well…exactly the same process except it now gets topped with the seventh degree of said scale! :
C = 1
D = 2
E = 3
F = 4
G = 5
A = 6
B = 7
Ergo, Cmaj7 is C - E - G - B .
Can you deduce the four notes that make up the following chords:
Fmaj7
E♭maj7
Bmaj7
Try playing the seventh chords and note how they have this sound of lingering, wanting to resolve.
The Minor Seventh Chord
It’s no secret that my favourite type of chord ever is the minor seventh chord, so it’s only fair that I show you how to find one.
It’s very much the same process, however we have to use the natural minor scale specifically. Click here to learn more about the natural minor scale.
If we were to take a C natural minor scale, we would find the minor seventh using exactly the same principals as we used on the major scale to find a major seventh! Easy!
C = 1
D = 2
E♭ = 3
F = 4
G = 5
A♭ = 6
B♭ = 7
So our C minor seventh chord, which would be notated using a lower case m (in this case, a C minor seventh would read Cm7), is C - E♭ - G - B♭ .
Play a minor seventh chord and note how it sounds a bit more together on its own - less in need of a resolve yet still mournful due to the overall minor grounding of its tone.
Can you find and play the four notes making up:
Am7
Em7
A♭m7
This just leaves us with one type to find. The one we use most frequently but the one that is a little fiddlier to explain, imaginatively titled…
THE SEVENTH CHORD!
The chances of you having already played a seventh chord of an inversion of one are extremely high, but you’ve not necessarily been taught how to find one.
Let’s put an end to that!
In context of music you have played, you will very likely played your seventh chords in more basic music as what’s known as a dominant seventh.
I have a whole blog explaining the individual names of the degrees of the scale, but for now all you need to know is that ‘dominant’ refers to the fifth degree.
So, the dominant note / chord of A is E, C is G, F is C, D is A etc. - count five up in the scale ensuring your root note is one (so C is 1 in a C major, for example) and you get your dominant.
The dominant seventh is where the dominant chord (as major) adds the seventh degree from its own root note but keeping the rules of the original key.
That’s a load of words that demand demonstration!
C major is our key.
G is the dominant.
G7 is our dominant seventh, therefore.
We count seven from G to turn it into our seventh note.
Ordinarily we would assume that the seventh degree of our G major scale incorporates F♯, however we are in C major, so it follows all the rules of C major (which is quite easy, to be fair - all white / natural notes!).
Therefore, we would read it as:
G = 1
A = 2
B = 3
C = 4
D = 5
E = 6
F = 7
So our dominant seventh in C, which is G seventh, is G - B - D - F.
These types of seventh chords and the default understanding of a seventh chord, so if anybody asks for a seventh chord but doesn’t specify major or minor - it’ll be this, and would be notated as simply as you could imagine: G7.
Try playing a seventh chord and notice the slightly jazzy effect it has. I also refer to these chords as the ‘Barbershop Quartet’ chord, as if you play these from bottom to top you have the note that a barbershop quartet would introduce their song with (imagine words to it such as “hellooooo, hellooooo, hellooooo, helloooooooo…” or whatever!)
Can you work out the following chords?:
D7
A7
F♯7
For a quick video reference of what the C major seventh, C minor seventh and G seventh chords look and sound like, see below:
Answers
Fmaj7 is F, A, C, E
E♭maj7 is E♭, G, B♭, D
Bmaj7 is B♭, D, F, A
Am7 is A, C , E , G
Em7 is E, G, B, D
A♭m7 is A♭, C♭, E♭, G♭ (remember that note names are only used once in a scale, so the note we would normally refer to as B is now referred to as C♭ as B is already taken on the second note - B♭)
D7 is D, F♯, A, C
A7 is A, C♯, E, G
F♯7 is F♯, A♯, C♯, E (don’t forget that you can only use sharps or flats in a scale, so if your root note is sharp then all none natural notes are sharp. The note that is A♯ might be much more familiar to you up to now as B♭, but we can’t use this as in the F♯ scale our fourth degree is B and - as previously mentioned - we can’t duplicate note names in the scale!)
Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Congleton, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.
Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!
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