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Angelo:
There is a great lesson in 4 note chords in the first 3 bars of Something.


The melody begins on a C in Bar 1. This is over a C major chord. The Chord symbol is C and the melody note is the root ,C, of the chord. The major chord is built with the Root 3rd and 5th note of the major scale. Since the melody note is a chord tone, it does not affect the chord symbol.

In the second measure the chord remains C and the melody note drops to B , the 7th note of the major scale. To account for this 4th note, which is a no chord tone, the chord symbol becomes CMaj7 to account for the non chord tone. Note that the major 7th is a 1/2 step down from C, the root or tonic of the chord. This chord is built with the Root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th note of the major scale.

In the 3rd bar the chord remains C and the melody note is Bb or a whole step down from C, the root of the chord. This chord is labelled C7 to account for the non chord tone Bb .This chord is built using the Root, 3rd, 5th, and b7th notes of the major scale.
It is important to memorize the formula of the chords construction so you get very familiar with each note of the chord and the symbols used to represent it. This skill is essential if you are trying to arrange a fake sheet or analyze an arrangement and understand why it sounds cool. You will carry over this knowledge to each new song you arrange and find you are building a vocabulary of chords, licks and idiomatic patterns that get applied over and over. With time you just end up having fun and your fingers just go to the right place.
Keep Rockin' Angelo!

THanks Dale, Jotur, and Pete:
Still working on "Something," and it sounds nice. Keep the tips coming, Pete!

Ok, folks, here's my "Something."
It ain't perfect,but here it is!
Thanks Pete!
http://www.box.net/shared/2fbtxs7elq

Angelo: For someone with less than a year at the piano, that is a fabulous performance. I like all the little extras you added to your arrangement. That is exactly what is supposed to happen and you will get more and more tricks up your sleeve with each song you add to your repertoire. I hope my tips helped.
One important thing to take with you from this song is the descending line - Am, Am/G#, Am/G Am/F#. I use this in Take The Lead level1 pg 42 - Minor League Blues.
You will hear that in Got To Get U Into My Life as well as John Lennon's I'm losing you, to name a couple of examples. Learn those songs too so you get the progression into your head and you can use it on the fly. You can use this trick, even over 1 bar, if the melody allows for it. An example is on the bridge of Here There and Everywhere. There is a minor chord on the 3rd bar, I know I need never care. You can run the line in eight notes beginning on the and of 3.
Nice work Angelo!

Thanks again Pete. Your ideas are very helpful to me, and I encourage other folks out there to check out your books!

Just another reason to check out Pete's stuff: It looks like purchasers of the book have access to his blog on which he expresses other stuff~

Angelo, your rendition of "Something" was "Something"!! It was excellent!

Maybe I need to buy that book!! :-)

Keep up the good work... you are destined for greatness!

Rick

Before Christmas it was my intention to stay away from PianoWorld as much as I could and refrain from posting. However, after listening to Angelo's arrangement of 'Something' I just had to come out of hiding to say well done - this is a beautiful piece.

How inspiring!

Cathy

angelo

I am very impressed with your "Something"
You have sparked my interest to look further into Pete's book.
Thanks
Carl

Cathy, this thread is for those of us who want to learn from each other and post positive contributions. I don't think Pete or Angelo would appreciate you jumping in here with nothing to offer.

Carl & Rick: Thanks so much for the positive feedback! Much appreciated!
Ragtime: I'm honored you came out of the silence to post; thanks!
Cathy: Thanks for the smile!

Ragtime: Cathy did post a smile, and that's a good thing!

To all: Pete is a great guy, and he's been very helpful to me. I encourage anyone with questions about his stuff to send him a PM.

THanks again, Pete!

Angelo;
Your Something is becoming Fantastic! Keep up the good work. I am still working on Fields. Going slower than I thought, but still trying to get it. I like how each of the lessons in Pete's books gets you to work with some different chords. Like you said, Pete is a great guy, and he is very helpful with anything you need help with.
A reminder to everyone, you can hear some of the audios of materials that are in the books right from the home site of Pop Piano Pro. Here is the link.

Take the Lead books 1 & 2 and Pop Piano Pro

Click on Listening booth to hear the audios.



Yes, Angelo is right... There is a lot more learning material on the blog too!

Dale

Thanks again for the feedback folks. Pete has provided me with much personalized help with "Something" and I like how the song sounds. I needed the personalized help, because after all, I'm only on p.22 of his first book! I want to say that this song came through sounding like this as a result of Pete's personalized help, and not as a result of my experience with the books.

Angelo,

It is very encouraging to see your progress. What is interesting is the choice of Beatles songs - Here There and Everywhere in particular. Did you work with Pete on these arrangements using the printed sheet music or did you draw up your own arrangement.

Tony,
Here, There and Everywhere was done using the Sudnow Method.
"Something" was done using some of my ideas and Pete's personalized help, but not using Pete's books.

Angelo asked me to show him what a pop song would sound like applying the material learned in my books.

The basic arrangement for Something uses 3 patterns in the LH. Root,5,Root,9,10, and Root 5 Root,3,5. There is a throb pattern at the descending minor line and some octave works in the bridge that descends the major scale.

All these patterns are in applied in the books. The pieces move through major and minor keys so students learn chords and how to use them to create arrangements, scales and some basic music theory and the ability to play in different keys. Due to copyright restrictions, all the pieces in the book are original material.

Pete, very interesting.

At the moment I just cannot seem to bring my piano playing to any satisfactory level. After three years of lessons I think I have developed many skills and technique. However, the art of 'song play' is a totally different skill that lessons obviously teach.

In order that I too make enough progress to play Something would you recommend that I go through your book from beginning to end and avoid everything else.

Rag Time Clown: Nope. I would not avoid everything else. No book in the world is going to give you everything. Everything you do in music adds up to better musicianship. Song play comes with years of experience
Learn lots of songs and styles. Figure out what makes them tick. Stick with them until they are deeply ingrained. Study theory, history, and sight reading,ear training and all other aspects of music. Keep at lessons with a teacher that has your respect. Self study is a very difficult road with lots of wrong turns and pot holes.

Music is a long term project. There is no way to short circuit years of study, playing experience and sound like a seasoned player. I have been at it 40 years teaching for 25 and still have a long way to go.

Pete, your advice is most welcome. I have identified a major problem in my piano playing. I am able to read music fairly well but when I bring my hands to the keys I think I have not developed any rythmn in my play.

If I can explain it another way - I need to be able to count the rythmn and this in turn will show me when to bring my fingers down on the keys. This is more apparrent when I try to play ballads or classical pieces.

I can play arpeggio style with ease and chords but when I am faced with a new piece I cannot get the rythmn. Piano lessons are probably the only way to resolve this. I feel as if this is the stumbling block that I need to unlock as I've just grinded to a halt!