The Wild Horses: Adding Chords

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman, and, in this lesson,
we're going to learn how to add chords to "The Wild Horses.”
Let's get started by checking out the score.

So, once again, here's our score for "The Wild Horses,"
and we're going to figure out when to play chords,
and that's where these arrows are going to help.
Now, you'll remember that, in music, a quarter note takes 1 beat,
and let's represent that with this heart shape that I'm drawing.
And then, two eighth notes, like these, can both share a beat.
So, you'll notice this first arrow points to this 1st beat. Then, on beat 2,
there's no arrow, which means we won't play a chord on these two notes.
Now, this arrow here points to our 3rd beat, and then, again,
we have a beat with no arrow. And, you'll start to see a pattern here
where there's an arrow every other beat. So, notice we have a beat,
and then a beat with no arrow. So, 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2. Basically, every time I'm saying 1,
that's where we'll play a chord: 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2. Let's just try that once.
Just say 1 2 as you tap. Go: 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2.

Now let's try to sing while we tap. Ready, go:
♫ This is the dance of the wild and running horses ♫.
Good, and then line two will be exactly the same:
♫ This is the dance of the wild and running horses ♫.
Then, on line three, you'll see this note: no chords–both hands play melody.
So, we don't have to worry about chords here. The left hand and right hand
will both play this melody part, and then, back to line four,
we're returning to our A pattern, and it's the same chords as before.
♫ This is the dance of the wild and running horses ♫.
So, let's try to play these chords on the piano now.
So, today, we're going to be playing chords with our right hand.
So, go ahead and take your right hand finger 1, and find D,
a step above middle C, here, and your finger 5 will be on A.
So, that's our DO and SO. Remember, for playing chords,
you want to just let these three middle fingers just float up a little bit.
And, for "Wild Horses," we're just going to use these two notes,
a more simple chord. I know that you you know how to do a three note chord now,
but this one will sound best with this opened chord, so these middle fingers
can just float a little bit up in the air. And then just use arm weight
to gently drop and then float back up. You want to keep your wrists relaxed,
your fingers relaxed, and just use gravity to drop into that chord, then float up.
Now, I'm exaggerating. You don't have to float up high;
you're just going to gently lift. Your fingers are going to stay very close to the keys,
so, try this with me. And remember, we saw, in the score,
that we're going to play a chord every 2 beats. So let's count: 1 2 1 2,
and a quick reminder to keep your pinkie near the tip as it plays, not flat.
See how that collapsed my hand? By using the tip of your pinkie,
that keeps your hand shape in a good place. So, try this with me. Count:
1 2 1 2, play chords and count: 1 2 1 2 1 2.
Good, you want that to feel really comfortable.
So, pause if you need extra practice with that. Otherwise,
let's now try the next step, which is to sing "The Wild Horses"
while we play the chords.

So, now we're having to think about two things at the same time.
We're going to only play a chord every two beats while we sing.
Okay? Try it with me, ready, go:

♫ This is the dance of the wild and running horses ♫
♫ This is the dance of the wild and running horses ♫.

Good, and remember, in the score, you'll see these arrows
that show you every time you're supposed to play a chord.
Now, I'd like you to pause the video and practice that by yourself a couple of times,
playing the chords in the correct spot as you sing the lyrics.
And then, press play to go on.

Now it's time for the challenge of doing it hands together.
Our right hand's going to play the chords, while the left hand plays the melody.
It will sound like this: ♫ This is the dance of the wild and running horses ♫.
Now, pause the video and work on that putting that hands together,
and then press play to go on to line three. And remember, it may be tricky
and really frustrating at first. That's always how it goes
when you're putting things hands together. But, just keep trying.
Try, try, try, until your fingers figure it out.

Now, when we get to line three, you'll remember, the instructions are:
both hands play melody, no chords. So now, both hands together:
♫ Stamp on the ground now, tramp on the ground now ♫.
Now, pause the video and work on line three, hands together,
then press play to go on.

Good, and then we're back to line four:
♫ This is the dance of the wild and ...